Damn Pete this brought back a million memories from that time period (we are the same age) so many killer “big” arena shows back in the day when it was all such a killer time to be alive as a young dude going to shows and partying like an idiot (how I survived - nor realize the danger I posed driving sometimes - are another story). Craziest one I remember (well, most of it) was seeing the 88’ Monsters of Rock tour with Van Hagar, Scorpions, Metallica, Dokken and Kingdom Come in Philly. I recall the line of traffic on the Walt Whitman bridge was so long and slow to move I had to jump between my car and the dude in front so I could take a leak and we traded beers and joints as thank you’s for him not moving while I did (funny you had virtually the same experience during your Stones show lol) made it until VH but was so trashed I went to the parking lot and passed out between our cars during their set... so dumb !!! Thanks for this episode it was so nostalgic especially since we saw a lot of similar shows on many tours (Rush in particular) !!
Great story about your sick friend. We had a friend who got wasted at almost every concert we went to. He would get so drunk, he'd pass out halfway through the concerts, and then the next day, talk about how great the show was. We'd say, "Dude, you didn't even see half of it".
Thanks Pete, for those concert memories! My first concert I attended was the ALLMAN BROS ( opener : James Montgomery Blues band ) December 27, 1972 Spectrum PHILADELPHIA,Pa. This Allman's tour was dubbed "The Christmas break" tour. The seating configuration, a term invented by Electric Factory Concerts ( Phila ), was called, " Festival Seating," meaning when the doors opened first come first served, no seating on the arena floor. The Phila Spectrum, a concrete and steel oval arena built in 1967 for the local Phila Flyers NHL hockey team was dubbed by us locals as "the Rectum," because the PA sound in there in the 1970's was VERY shitty! We arrived late- got a ride down from King of Prussia Pa, western Philadelphia burbs, so we sat in the upper level stage right. The bands played well. However it was the attendees who created a unique concert experience for that show. Security was not as tight as it is now at these events! If you LOOKED like you were sneaking in stuff, you were checked.... So when James Montgomery took the stage, out come SEVERAL Roman Candles from the pugalistic pyromaniac punters, who had all snuck in these fireworks strapped to their legs! These guys would sit there, light the candle, then poof! The first flare went up....and then down, landing on or around people sitting on the "FESTIVAL" seating floor! There were at least 20 of these concert regulars, all working these roman candles, through the entire opening act! Occasionally, I watched and followed several candle flares down to the Rectum floor...then saw a scattering of sparks as a flare would sometimes land on a girl's head, which she then frantically brushed off her hair free of fire, aided by her friends! Those pyrotechnic-wits were never bothered by concert security! Eventually during the Allman's great set, they just ran out of event "audience participation glitteri," and that was that! It was then I realized that by being LATE, not in the best seat, this one time, provided a much improved concert experience! I had just turned 17, and my concert experiences had begun! THE BEST indoor fireworks display I ever saw! ( I was at a concert this past Saturday, May 18 ,2019, 3 days ago, aged 63- no fireworks, however!)!
Brilliant show Pete. We really need more of this stuff, it brought back so many memories from going to gigs back in the late 70's and throughout the 80's.
Such a blast to hear these stories. The more shows you went to it was inevitable this kind of stuff would happen. My first show was in 1991, oh my I wish I had been around for concerts in the 80s.
This was great Pete, those stories are gold. You gotta do a part 2 and maybe a 3 and a 4 if you want to divide it up by decade. I haven't been to a concert in ages and this made me think back to some of my own experiences as well.
These stories are great! I have a large stack of ticket stubs myself, and probably should try at some point at doing something similar. But definitely do more of these! I'm loving the stories!
My most memorable concert -- Rush, Hollywood Sportatorium 1981. Neil Peart was late to the show. So, they wouldn't allow entry until the band got a sound check. The crowd went nuts and crashed the gates. They sent in riot police (btw, the backup band was Riot) and helicopters. They tear-gassed us. If you've never been tear-gassed, it's like hot peppers rubbed in your eyes, with snot and spit running uncontrollably from nose and mouth as you gag for air. Many injuries and arrests. But, amazingly, the show went on. Best show, Moving Pictures tour. This show is documented on Wikipedia: Hollywood Sportatorium. One of the reasons Rush hates FL.
I've been to about 100 concerts. My very first was The Jackson 5 when I was about 13 or 14. My second was Frank Moreno and Mahogany Rush, opening for Styx on the Grand Illusion tour. Amazing concert. I saw Thin Lizzy and Journey in 1978 in the Warehouse down in New Orleans, shortly after that. That was pretty awesome too. The stage was about chest high and you could stand right up against it. Phil Lynott and company were like 3 feet in front of us. So awesome. It was their Black Rose tour. Other memorable concerts I've been to, First Annual Day of Rock and Roll in the Superdome, like 1979, featuring Sammy Hagar, Heart, Boston, Van Halen, Blue Oyster Cult and Nazareth. The music was great, but the organization was for shit. They only used one stage, and they had to break it down and reset it every time between bands. Took forever. Concert started at about noon, and ended about 3am the next morning. Tickets were $13.50 for all those bands. Kansas in 1980. Steve Walsh was amazing. He had to be on coke or some other stimulant, because he never stopped moving the whole concert. First time I saw a band use lasers in their show too. Saw KISS in 79, original lineup. I was a huge KISS fan at the time. They put on an amazing show. So many others, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper's From The Inside tour. So many great memories.
Great stories. Man how I wish I could've been alive back in your day. The 1980s were the best time to be a rock and Metal fan without a doubt. I'm especially jelous of the Dio and Ian Gillan fronted Black Sabbath shows. Would love to see part 2.
Love your concert stories. My mom always talked about seeing the Electric Elves at all these various shindigs growing up. Oddly enough, she had no idea who Ronnie James Dio was when I asked her years later.
One big concert memory involves Blue Oyster Cult in March, 1978, at Fort Wayne, Indiana's Allen Country War Memorial Coliseum. Be Bop Deluxe was the opening act. But the memory is hooked onto what Buck Dharma and BOC did for the fans. The local police departments were really clamping down on illegal drugs, marijuana, and underage drinking, and they surprised everyone with searches at the Coliseum doors. A lot of fans turned away and left, and a lot were arrested. My date and I made it through the searches and there were only about a thousand fans in a venue with a capacity slightly over 12, 000. Buck came out and addressed the crowd even before Be Bop Deluxe started playing and told us that they wouldn't cancel the concert because they knew about the searches. They rocked that place that evening. I've never forgotten that concert.
Many years ago I was a member of a national social club in the UK called 18plus. Every Easter groups from all over met up on the Norfolk coast for five days of partying. There was live bands, big name Radio DJ's and Motorhead were playing on the Good Friday. This was their first gig after Phil & Eddie left and they were now a four piece. The gig was great but it was memorable for me because of what happened during the day. I got to be a roadie for the day. I had volunteered the night before and got woken a 7am after partying until 4am by legendary roadie Cyclops. I spent the day with him and Eagle and another fan hauling speakers and lights and setting the gear up. We were told to hang around and about mid afternoon in walks Lemmy. He comes over and asks who we were. when we told him we had been helping out, he shouts to the barman to open up and pour some beers. we sat with him for about half an hour talking about music and stuff. But the one thing I will always remember is when he said he had become mates with the drummer of an American band who had just released their first album. He told us to watch out for them as he thought they would be huge as they were louder and faster the Motorhead. I always wondered what happened to Metallica.....:)
Neil Young's finale in Vancouver, a cover of A Day in the Life. His whole concert was fantastic but that alone was worth the price of admission. Supertramp Crime of the Century tour, with opening act Procal Harum, amazing. Leonard Cohen on his second to final tour, what class and what incredible musicians and back-up singers and Dire Straits, my most memorable. My biggest regret, not seeing Pink Floyd live
Thanks for the memories man....I'm 56 and had my share of concerts....kids these days don't have a clue what it was like back in the day....long live rock!!
In March 2001, I took my 12 yr old son to see Nazareth. He's been listening to them from day 1 (and still loves them in 2020). After the gig, we went to the Naz dressing room, and chilled out wirh the band. Dan McCafferty signed my boy's 1975 vinyl album of 'Dan McCafferty. Drummer, Lee gave my lad the drum sticks he'd played with that night. And Jimmy Murrison was very nice to us also. Whilst this was going on, I had a chat with keyboardist, Ronnie Leahy. When I complemented him on his non Naz work, he really appreciated it... esp when I mentioned his contribution to Jon Anderson's 'Song of seven.'
My first concert was Kansas in ‘78, with a friend and his father. I was 11 (!) I remember being overwhelmed and enthralled by the sound and visuals. Amazing experience. Question - does anyone know who opened for them? I have absolutely no recollection. This was in Richmond, Virginia. Another great post, Pete. Much appreciated! 🤘
My first concert was todd trundgren /utopia and the outlaws odd combo for sure but excellent none the less the outlaws at this time were very big with songs like hurry sundown,ghost riders in the sky and three very good harmonizing guitar players,just great...Todd to was unbelievable with his drummer on the frame of a Harley hog surrounded with drums and cymbals above the stage spinning round and round and later he had a big movie screen with animation (i believe that he drew)with the words of the songs that he sang as he instructed us to sing along by following the bouncing ball GREAT FIRST CONCERT
Throughly enjoyed the recalling of your legendary memoirs, i.e., your immense concert records. You should be knighted as a great concert warrior. Lol. Also you don't like Poison that much either. I agree. I could listen to this all day Pete. Keep it up! Great stories chocked with all those memories. Wow! Fantastic and funny! 😂 ✌️🤟
I haven't been to a lot of concerts, because I only like to go hear my absolute favorite bands/musicians. But I remember walking from the parking lot to the venue for Billy Squire/Bad Company/Styx concert, and telling my boyfriend that "someone was going to spill beer on me tonight". Well sure enough, the woman sitting next to me, spilled her beer all over my lap. Luckily, it was near the end of the concert so I didn't have to smell like a brewery for too long. But probably the best concert I've ever been to...🎸🙂🥁
Great stories Pete. Our first stories are almost identical. I got into Sabbath in 1979 during the transition from Ozzy to Dio. My first show was Ozzy/Motorhead at the Aragon ballroom in Chicago.. and yes my dad dropped us off at the venue.
Oh man,the Slayer Felt Forum show was INSANE. I was 16 and terrified😳 You where right about the Monster Of Rock at Giants Stadium. I was in the swirl in front of the stage and it was a nightmare. After Metallica finished I moved to the middle of the field. Dokken blew but the Scorps where good. By the time VH came on I was ready to leave😴
I'm a few years younger than you, Pete, and I never got to as many concerts. But I did manage to see Rush seven times between 1988 (Hold Your Fire) and 2015 (R40), and Dio four times (twice with Heaven & Hell, twice solo). The Dio show the day after Thanksgiving 2000 had Doro and Yngwie opening, and now I'm going to see Yngwie again next week (also saw him in 2017). I never saw Stevie Ray Vaughn live, but I did talk to him once via a radio call-in show!
My pals and I were in a pub early one evening, when an older man sat at our table. He didn't say much during the 10 minutes at our table. Then he arose, said good-bye and left. 30 seconds later someone started with the bagpipes - it was the older man! He walked around the pub playing bagpipes, and then he walked onstage - the song changed to Hair of the Dog...The older guy was Dan McCafferty, my childhood idol and I have goosebumps, still. In a similar fashion we met Jeff Garcia in Calgary!
My second big-name show ever was Black Sabbath, Orpheum, Boston, 1975. That was the "Sabotage" Tour. My son is so jealous that I saw the old school Sabbath with Ozzy lol. First big-name show was Foghat/Black Oak/Montrose, same year, same venue. The enduring memory is how damn LOUD those shows were. My ears rang all the next day. It blows my mind how those musicians could endure that night after night on tour. I guess they just get used to it, hey, they have to make some sacrifices to live the rock n roll life huh?
I saw ZZ Top the first time they ever came to the UK (circa 1981). We managed to get front row tickets at Hammersmith Odeon to see them. Who came into the photographers pit between the stage and the front row? Only Lemmy, who stood right in front of me throughout the gig and who obviously enjoyed it all. I particularly liked it when they started playing 'Cheap Sunglasses' after donning very cheap dayglow sunglasses. Lemmy immediately put his shades on and danced along to the song. Great memory.
Lot's of great concerts Pete! My first concert was 1974 Black Oak Arkansas (Jim Dandy to the rescue ) My last was TOOL in 2003. So long ago. Never got to see Ozzy, Sabbath, Blackmore, or Dio.😭 Anyway,.. yes do a Part 2👍!! 🤟
Oh man Pete these stories are priceless! I love reliving these great shows through the eyes of an East Coast perspective. You’d die laughing if you saw the Polaroid of my buddy Paul’s beer goggles grin driving to Whitesnake in the car🤪Pine Knob Detroit
Great idea for the show Pete. In about 1983-84 I went to a show at Cal Expo in Sacramento. I was 27-28. The bill was Stevie Ray Vaughn, Y & T, and Sammy Hagar. Y & T played first, and they were great. Next was SRV. The show had a quite younger crowd and they started booing Stevie. It got so bad that Sammy had to come out to tell the crowd to knock it off and give him a chance. Two years later Stevie would become a huge star.
Memorable: Rush on Hemipsheres and Permanent Waves tour at Nassau Coliseum. The Hemispheres one was a day before the Islanders were to win their first Stanley Cup at the Coliseum and the band came out in Islander jerseys for the encore. Local faves The Good Rats opened with guitarist John "The Cat" Gatto disappearing from the stage during a long solo then reappearing thru a door in the upper level of the Coliseum (one of the first wireless guitars!)
Great show a part 2 would be very much appreciated. I would be interested to know what’s is the furthest you’ve traveled to a gig, or how far you would go to see a favourite band. I’m seeing Metallica in Vienna in August and going to Rio in October to see Iron Maiden. Making a holiday experience out of a concert involving a favourite band is cool. I’ve travelled to Ireland to see U2, London several times for the Stones and Bon Jovi.
Thank you for sharing your concert experiences, so cool to hear the history of early to late 80's hard rock concerts from your perspective. I'm definetely interested in seeing your part 2 video and how the early to mid 90's affected your concert experiences. Did you see some of the "Seattle Grunge" bands?
A buddy and I went to see Boston on their Third Stage tour at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. We got the tickets the day of the show and went on a whim. We were both broke and 16 years old…and we hardly knew our way around downtown Pittsburgh. We saw the show, which was fine (I thought they sounded a little too perfect like I was listening to the albums) and then went back to the car. Now, if you never drove in Pittsburgh, you should know that if you make one wrong turn it can be a 45 minute mistake. So, of course I made a wrong turn. And with my gas almost on E I had to drive 45 minutes out or my way. During all this frustration a car cut me off on the highway. Being the dumb 16 year old kid I was, I drove next to the car and made rude tongue gestures to the girl in the passenger side. So, a few miles up the road we were forced to get on to the Pennsylvania turnpike. We had NO money and no gas. We scraped a few coins from the floors and back seat as we approached the ticket window. After we felt we had enough coins we sat and chilled with my window down waiting for our turn to get a ticket. And that’s when a fist came through my open window and punched me in the eye! It was the guy who cut my off! He was yelling, “You want to make those gestures to my girl…huh? Get out and face me like a man!!” Petrified, I just rolled up my window and scooted up to get on the turnpike. We actually made it home that night, driving about 30 miles with my gas needle below E. So, yeah. That was the night I saw Boston.
Pete. Love your contributions to our era. Loudest concert me was Ted Nugent Free for All tour in 1978? So loud in front I lost my hearing for several days. But what a show.
I got a good one. Mike Oldfield Group at the Tower Theater Philadelphia 1981. All-Star band: Pierre Moerlen on drums, Morris Pert on percussion, Maggie Riley singing like an angel, and Oldfield was amazing on bass and lead guitars. Pekka on bass, Tim Cross on keys. Five Miles Out Tour and a great show. Got to see Ommadawn, Tubular Bells, Platinum, Taurus Two, and more. We had seats in the last row on the floor, but there was a ledge right behind us and sat on that all night. Perfect view of the stage. The copious amounts of THC consumed helped .
Here is a story: Have you ever attended Two totally DIFFERENT concerts in the same night?! I DID! December 3, 1975 To begin, In the Philadelphia suburban region, the towns of Blue Bell Pa., and the town of Bryn Mawr,Pa., on the suburban mainline are about 15 miles apart! So, MY dilemma, a tough concert choice HAD to be made! Up at Montgomery County College, Blue Bell, Pa. Hall & Oats with fabulous opener DAVID SANCIOUS and Tone were playing. Meanwhile SAVOY BROWN featuring guitarist KIM SIMMONDS and future UFO keys/ guitarist Paul Raymond ( I just saw SAVOY/ Kim again, 3 days ago 5-18-2019! ) were playing at the Bryn Mawr MAIN POINT, a local Phila regional club! David SANCIOUS had just released, "Transformation ( Speed of Love)," his 2nd album on EPIC records, and a critical FUSION tour de force! So off to see David Sancious! The Hall and Oats, D Sancious show began with a blistering set from Mr. SANCIOUS! It was hard to believe this great musician actually played with Bruce Springsteen the year before- totally different! In 45 minutes, Sancious' set was done! I recall even now the calculations I put into motion, the moment I realized there would be no Sancious encore! Let's see...Bryn Mawr...still early...what about Hall and Oats ?! POOF! I was out the door, running to my 1968 Olds Cutlass! There were no super highways to Bryn Mawr! I knew the roads, it was Saturday, so traffic was light! I sped the whole way, cops be damned! I actually made the Savoy Brown gig, and...SNUCK in! I had ONLY missed 3 songs...! To this day, 43.5 years later, I have STILL yet to see Hall & Oats!
What a brilliant post. Hardly a rant, more of a fascinating insight to the highlights of your late teens. When you were telling the story of your 220 lbs mate jumping off the stage I was already laughing, as I saw the outcome before you told it 🤣... As a relatively recent follower I felt like we were in the same mould, musically. I've been right with you with your posts on Sabbath, Purple, Zeppelin, Genesis, Yes... Even 10cc, Supertramp, Steely Dan & ELO. This post on concerts & some of the lesser known ones that you've featured, I'm feeling like we're running a 10k race & you've just lapped me for the 10th time !!! Roll on with your pt. 2.... 3.... 4, etc. Excellent !!
Fun topic, you went to alot of shows, must've been hilarious watching you and your friend trying to wave down your father to get the tickets back, love to see a part two.
I think we must be about the same age. So many of the concerts that you list, I had the privilege of attending. I kept almost every ticket and pass I ever got. On the Rainbow SBTE tour it was Pat Traver's opening in MN. Great video! Thanks.
Really great show! Enjoyed it a lot, especially 'cause I got some similar experiences which brought back great memories. And thanks, you also answered -partly- my question I've asked you after yesterdays' Q&A.
part 2 , please! Very enjoyable video....it matters not, but my first concert was Tesla opening for Poison......Tesla killed it!! My pal was backstage and dumped a beer on CC's lid. Too funny.
Pete how's your hearing these days? All the concerts, all the close up volume, all the drinking, all the moshing. Damn. But the fun! 😜 Sadly those were the glory days of concerts never to be repeated.
Fun show!! My first concert was Jimi Hendrix at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim CA, February 9th 1968. My sister took me for my 15th birthday!! Saw many shows there including ELP when "Welcome Back My Friends..." was recorded. Ahhh, sweet memories!!! YES, PART TWO!!!
Best double bill show was Metallica Justice Tour with Queensryche on their OMC Tour which they played the whole record and songs from Warning and Rage For Order . Just fantastic . I also caught that Krokus tour in 1984 had front row seats it was a Blistering show they were on The Blitz Tour and played a lot of those Killer Headhunter songs !! Coney Hatch opened this was in Houston at The Summit so a Jersey , Bon Jovi style band didn't go over to well . As for Krokus HeadHunter was their heaviest and best record . Long Stick goes boom was ok . Was disappointed Krokus didn't stay with that more Metal sound from HeadHunter ??
Great story’s Pete .Some crazy stuff used to happen to me when I used go to gigs back in the nineties it used to be so cheap you could go to loads of gigs cheers dean
Best concerts I ever saw: Led Zeppelin, Queen (NOTW tour), King's X, The Ventures, Van Halen, and Kansas. Regrets of early 80's concerts I missed: Ozzy w/ Randy Rhoads, Judas Priest & Iron Maiden, and Fates Warning / Attacker / Obsession.
I had the chance to see Metallica 4x (2004, 2009, 2011, 2015) Megadeth 4x (2004, 2007, 2010, 2012) The Rolling Stones (2015), Ac/Dc (2015), Roger Waters 2x (2012, 2017), Tool (2017), Black Sabbath (2014), Deep Purple (2017), Alice Cooper (2017), Lynyrd Skynyrd (2019), Testament (2010), Slayer (2010), The Foo Fighters (2018), The Black Keys (2013), The Smashing Pumpkins (2018), Red Hot Chili Peppers (2015), Neil Young (2018), Pearl Jam (2016), Slipknot (2009), Muse 2x (2013, 2016) ... pratically all in Quebec City, Canada....a couple in Montreal and Toronto... And I've juste learn that Rage Against The Machine is coming up this summer !! Can't wait !!
When you mentioned the opening band for the Sabbath show you saw in 1982, I remembered seeing that tour (in Iowa) but couldn't remember who the opener was at the show I saw. So I Googled the show date to find out who the opener was. I instantly ran into a link to a high quality soundboard recording from that tour of the show that I was AT. Ten minutes later, and I have it downloaded, and I'm hearing it again for the second time, 37 years later. These are amazing times. (but the music was way better back then)
Fantastic stuff! I’d watch a part 2, 3 and 4. One of my most memorable concert experiences was at Deep Purple’s Knebworth reunion show in 1985. Toilet facilities were frankly medieval - I remember a kind of cesspit with a plank over it with holes cut in it. Anyway, this guy apparently tried to swig from a two litre bottle of cider while he was on the john and - not to put too fine a point on it - toppled into the mire. He was completely trashed and I’m not even sure he understood what had happened. Anyway during the day’s support bands (Alaska, Mama’s Boys, Scorpions, Meat Loaf) you could see the crowd parting from afar as if Moses was doing his thing, with this revolting hairy bloke in denims wandering through the middle. No prizes for guessing who that was.
Brilliant day but so wet, We had to help push the coach out of the mud on the way out of the field. Got home at about 5am and were stopped by the Police as we walked home asking us what we were doing at that time in the morning. Great memories!
Ian Gillard It was torrential wasn’t it! I can remember going absolutely crazy when Blackmore started the riff to Smoke on the Water and each part of the riff was bounced from speaker stack to speaker stack across the field. Such an amazing effect. The 16-year-old me was drenched but deliriously happy.
Patrick, Purple were my favourite band at the time but I was 20 in 1985 and obviously hadn't seen them first time around. I'd seen Whitesnake, Gillan and Rainbow at the time but this was the big one! I can clearly remember earlier in the day two light aircraft flying over the sight doing aerobatic stunts as well. Amazing reminiscing about it 34 years later on something called You Tube! We only had Kerrang! and the Friday Rock Show in those days.
Funnily enough I thought Meatloaf was a strange choice for that bill at the time, he certainly didnt "embrace the challenge" of a difficult crowd. I once saw Gary Moore walk of stage about 4 songs in to his set when he was in G Force and Michael Schenker in the early MSG days play a whole show with his back to the audience. Very disappointing as they are still 2 of my favourite guitarists of all time.
Dec. 1st, 1988 Savatage, Megadeth, and Dio at the Spectrum in Philly. This very show is memorialized in a live DVD of Dio's performance that night. Savatage came on like a hurricane! Completely blew away everyone that night. The Dio set was good but, the real news from the night was Megadeth laying a lukewarm turd in the middle of the night. Completely underwhelming set from those guys. They gave zero effort and looked as though they were being held, hostage. Never bothered to see them again and actually never bought another cd cassette or shirt from them after that crappy performance! Savatage ate their lunch and made Dio look like a scripted off-Broadway rock opera. Should have been one of the best shows ever. I saw Metallica four times from '84 to '88 and they never gave a half-assed performance like Megadeth did!
Hi Pete here's one you would have loved, 1978 melbourne Australia, my last year of High, my friend was a big Lizzy fan and introduced me to Live and Dangerous, turned out Lizzy were doing a free concert Oct0ber that year so a group of us went the night before to the myer music bowl, outdoor venue. To our surprise Thin Lizzy came and did a sound check, there were probably half a dozen of us with sleeping bags, Gary Moore, Phil and Scott gave us autographs, pins and plectrums ..a night I will never forget, we reserved front rows seats for the show the next night..best live gig I ever saw.
I was always good at "being the 3rd caller" to local FM stadio contests, and won tickets to Queen/Thin Lizzy at Nassau Coliseum. Queen was too loud but Lizzy was great, blew 'em off the stage.
lurch321 Queen got booed during the operatic vocal section of Bohemian Rhapsody just before the big guitar riff. The stage went dark and that part of the song was a tape of the studio album because there was no way they could duplicate that live. Lizzy was the opener, by the way...
@P Jet That seems a bit illogical on the fans' end because that's literally how Bohemian Rhapsody was played live, even up to today. Seems a bit petty, considering this is the only "complaint" that this comment mentions about their performance.
In October 1973. First concert was in Reno, Nevada. Rare Earth, Elvin Bishop, and a local band Skarow. Elvin Bishop never showed up. Next was Guess Who, Montrose, Elvin Bishop, and local band Redwing. That was in Sacramento. Next was the first time I saw the Doobie Brothers in Sacramento on March of 1974. Went to both Cal Jams in Ontario, CA. Saw the Doobie Brothers 4 times. The Moody Blues 8 times. The third show was with the Sacramento Symphony and was a great show. The next time seeing the Moody Blues was at Caesar’s Tahoe and ended up chatting with Gallagher. Seen many other shows and all were great. Last year saw Ringo Starr’s All Star Band with Gregg Rollie.
Hello Pete, thx for another great show. It's always a pleasure to listen your enthusiastic love in music. But... i miss your great "History Of..." Shows; hope there will be another one soon. Journey, Styx, Foreigner, Kansas... this would be interesting... a lot of line-up changes in these bands. Another suggestion could be a ranking or Top10 from some Solostuff from Pink Floyd. I would like to hear your opinion about the solo albums during the Floyd Activities: David Gilmour (ST), Wet Dream, Zee; About Face vs. Pros & Cons, Momentary Lapse vs. K.A.O.S., Division Bell vs. Amused To Death, this would be interesting. There a many Pink Floyd Reviews on UA-cam, but the Solostuff is very rare. Maybe someday :-) All the best for you, Chris from Germany (sorry, if my english isn't perfect.
Great show! Enjoyed the stories a lot! Hey, if you need inspiration for more top ten shows, you could always enlist a west coast guy...me! I have made top tens with honorable mentions for these artists you haven't done shows for yet: 10cc, Allman Bros, Ambrosia, Badfinger, CCR, Doobie Bros, Faces, Free, Peter Gabriel, George Harrison, Ian Hunter, John Lennon, Moody Blues, Mott The Hoople, Paul McCartney (solo), Santana, Sweet, and Traffic. Oh, and I made a list of 80 more to do in the future...
Cool video. I lived thru sms experiencef many of the shows you mentioned. Btw, dig the Barry Goudreau disc behind you. Dreams was a great tune in the summer of '80. Keep up the videos.
I was just 16 when we saw Rush touring Permanent Waves with Limelight supporting - you never saw Gillan at that time ? One of best atmosphere hard rock gig I ever attended. Saw Iron Maiden with 200 others at Bournemouth Town Hall on there first headline and Rob Halford a year later getting pushed over the Harley Davidson he leant against by a Patch Wearing Gentleman 😃 plus Tony Levin playing in support band called “ So “ before Steve Hackett in 82 probably. That’s All - thanks for being as old as me 👍
What memories! My first concert was also Ozzy. Diary tour June of 82' at San Diego Sports Arena. I remember it seemed very short and at the end I was like that's it? Of course Rhodes had just died a few months earlier. Major bummer. I just went back and read about the plane crash again. Damn.
Cool topic !! First was LZ for Houses at KEZAR I was 16.. Seemed like they were controlling the weather,,,was a sunny day (In SF, no less) then the clouds moved in during the voilin bow part of Dazed. During the full band, up tempo secttion, the sun came out again ! I just said to myself 'i gotta see more concerts !'. Did, Winterland, Cow Palace and the like and also clubs like The Keystone PA. Saw a reformed Montrose in '84 with a former co guitarist of a band i was in for '82'/'83. We meet the sister of my wifes best friend there and invite her to sit with us. Show was incredible ! Afterwards we're in the parking lot waiting for her boyfriend (he didn't like rock) and she goes "there he is "" and takes off running. Me and my bud look at eachother and follow her. She had her arms around Ronnie Montrose! We caught up and all i could say was You F'ing Rocked!" and shook his hand. He just said ''Thank you". He was in the same sweaty T shirt he gigged in and his eyes were darting around. I said he should go. The gal finally let him go, wiping a tear from her eyes. It was perfect. A guy i used to chat with @ Amazon discussion pages saw Uli Jon Roth at the Independent a couple of years ago. He said Uli made time stop. Unless you've seen something like i did that night, one might not know what he meant. RIP, Ronnie.
My 1st show was Ozzy speak of the devil tour, Randy just passed & Brad Gillis filled in. I was so upset about it all, but he continued to tour. Great show, Brad was fantastic!
Talking of Bon Jovi, I have mentioned elsewhere about the gig at the Monsters of Rock headliner in England. (the one where Paul Stanley, Bruce Dickinson & Dee Snider came on for the encore). You mentioned screaming girls and I remember something similar. On the bill that day were WASP, Cinderella, Anthrax, Metallica and Dio, so not an entirely pussy line up. Donington did its usual thing, it rained. We nearly p___d ourselves laughing at all the ex-Duranies and George Michael girlie fans in their high heels, pixie boots and white jackets who had come to see Bon Jovi trudging through the Donington mud
Yes I totally agree with you about this Seventh Star tour; Wasp 🐝 never showed so we got AOR and you’re right Pete! Anthrax opened up and I met Joey Belladonna in the Boston Garden 🪴 Wasp a no show. No surprises there @‘ 85 Sincerely yours, DJP ex PostMortem and Kilslug Boston Massachusetts USA
My first concert: German band Can, 2nd concert: Slade (Fanny opening), 3rd concert (1973) Deep Purple Mark 3 (awesome) (Alex Harvey Band opening), from then on....uncountable. Worst concerts: Led Zeppelin (just before the split), Genesis (first tour with Phil singing, they didn't play the stuff our girlfriends liked), Supertramp (boring)…..
I loved going to concerts back in the day...great stories, Pete....I was hoping your dog would jump up and show her beautiful face, but her bouncy tail was a highlight, nonetheless.............best concert I went to was kiss, and judas priest....worst was gun and roses, and white lion, im glad I didn't purchase those tickets, they were both given to me
Pete, great stories! I also spent almost every weekend at Sundance in Bayshore, saw many great shows there including Slayer with Toby Scaglioni drumming
Good show, enjoyed the stories. Because I know you're winging it this is an observation rather than a criticism - you could have told the stories with a slightly more relaxed delivery. But had you done so you would have lost some of the excitement and enthusiasm. Maybe you could do a 'top ten gig experiences' or 'top ten gig related stories' in the future? Don't change anything for 'Part 2' of this though.
Yes, part 2 please. I'm only a few years younger than you and so far have not been to any of the same shows. Lived in NJ at the time and saw a lot of shows at the Meadowlands, MSG, Roseland, Radio City, etc.
Great show.... gotta do part 2 We caught a lot of the same tours... first real concert was Sabbath Mob rules tour Dec. of 81 Chicago international amphitheater. Great awesome show✌️🎶🍺🤘
First: Dio, Sacred Heart tour 1986, Festival Hall, Melbourne Best: Linkin Park, 2012ish, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne (1st concert with son) Worst: Kiss 1994ish, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne (no make up, no energy, no interest, guy to my left had worst BO ever, guy to wife's right threw up). Left early Loudest: Motorhead 1990ish, Festival Hall, Melbourne - too loud to hear Disappointing sound: Def Leppard 1992 Rockit tour, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne - echos in the rafters Weirdest crowd: Dream Theater, 2014, Palais Theatre Melbourne - crowd in front of Rudess all bald, crowd in front of Petruci remained seated until 3/4 way through show. Favourite Venue: The Palace, Melbourne - big pub with beer, Nirvana, Cheap Trick (x2), Yngwie Malmsteen, Prefab Sprout etc etc
As I look at my stubsI see that I was at a lot of shows you were at between 1984-1986 I'd have to say that 1981-1988 were the absolute best metal concerts in history!
Thats a trip first time i saw sabbath with ronnie was mob rules also and the outlaws,the forum in la.Outlaws didnt get booed and were actually pretty good.First concert that i ever saw was black sabbath never say die tour with the ramones opening up at long beach arena 1978 and they got pelted with all kinds of shit.I had no idea who they were and i think a lot of people also didnt know who they were.it sucks because the night before in san diego van halen opened ,that would have been so awesome to see.Oh ya by the way i was 9 and it was 6th row.Thank god for my cool older brother.
I was also at the RUSH/Rory Gallagher show at MSG in 1982. SIGNALS Tour. That was my first RUSH show. I saw them on every tour after that for the rest of their career, including the Radio City Music Hall shows (pre-Grace Under Reassure).
My first concert was 1983. Ozzy Osbourne/ Accept. It was the Bark at the Moon tour of course. I thought Jake E Lee was the shit. I was only 12 and am still surprised my mom let me go. Got pretty wasted and threw up in the stands. Lol damn good times.
Killer pete is the man reminds me of my brother love live shows I’m gonna go looking for his shoe box of concert stubs Never quite understood but it was the pride and joy be for he passed
First rock shows in 1988. Def Leppard and Ozzy both at the Worcester Centrum in MA. Best show ever was Pink Floyd, 4th row at the old Foxboro Stadium in 1994.
Love the concert experiences my first concert wernt rock was with my parents early 70s paul simon Andy Williams stuff like that my first rock concert was alice cooper welcome to my nightmare awesome concert after that was frampton got married and had kids so didnt really go to concerts till the 90s since then been to a few cant afford the price of concert tickets anymore its ridiculous forgot I saw the monkees in 86
Rory Gallagher at the Bayou in DC. UFO when second album was released in a night club sitting at a round bar/night club table right in front of them, might have been 50 people there. Johnny Winter and with Foghat opening on the Rock n Roll album tour opening at Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia Maryland. Motorhead opening for Ozzy Towson, MD. Still have Lemmy, Phil and Eddie's autograph from that. Clash at Ontario Theatre in DC on the Give em Enough Rope tour. Pretenders when second album was released at Painters Mill, Owings Mill MD AC/DC with Bon Scott Savoy Brown opened also Painters Mill. Ramones with the Runaways opening Painters Mill. Humble Pie on the Smokin tour Baltimore Civic Center. Saw Montrose there too. Being in the U.S. never got to see Status Quo or Slade in the prime. Only two I never saw live that I wish I had.
Ozzy Osbourne was my first concert also during the ultimate sin tour! Sacramento,CA Cal Expo amphitheater 1986! Metallica was supposed to open up but cancelled! So blue oyster cult replaced them, still was a good show.\m/
Being born in '97, its really cool to hear the stories that I couldn't have experienced myself. Great video Pete.
Damn Pete this brought back a million memories from that time period (we are the same age) so many killer “big” arena shows back in the day when it was all such a killer time to be alive as a young dude going to shows and partying like an idiot (how I survived - nor realize the danger I posed driving sometimes - are another story). Craziest one I remember (well, most of it) was seeing the 88’ Monsters of Rock tour with Van Hagar, Scorpions, Metallica, Dokken and Kingdom Come in Philly. I recall the line of traffic on the Walt Whitman bridge was so long and slow to move I had to jump between my car and the dude in front so I could take a leak and we traded beers and joints as thank you’s for him not moving while I did (funny you had virtually the same experience during your Stones show lol) made it until VH but was so trashed I went to the parking lot and passed out between our cars during their set... so dumb !!! Thanks for this episode it was so nostalgic especially since we saw a lot of similar shows on many tours (Rush in particular) !!
Great story about your sick friend. We had a friend who got wasted at almost every concert we went to. He would get so drunk, he'd pass out halfway through the concerts, and then the next day, talk about how great the show was. We'd say, "Dude, you didn't even see half of it".
Thanks Pete, for those concert memories!
My first concert I attended was the ALLMAN BROS ( opener : James Montgomery Blues band )
December 27, 1972
Spectrum PHILADELPHIA,Pa.
This Allman's tour was dubbed
"The Christmas break" tour.
The seating configuration, a term invented by Electric Factory Concerts ( Phila ), was called,
" Festival Seating," meaning when the doors opened first come first served, no seating on the arena floor. The Phila Spectrum, a concrete and steel oval arena built in 1967 for the local Phila Flyers NHL hockey team was dubbed by us locals as "the Rectum," because the PA sound in there in the 1970's was VERY shitty!
We arrived late- got a ride down from King of Prussia Pa, western Philadelphia burbs, so we sat in the upper level stage right.
The bands played well. However it was the attendees who created a unique concert experience for that show. Security was not as tight as it is now at these events!
If you LOOKED like you were sneaking in stuff, you were checked....
So when James Montgomery took the stage, out come SEVERAL Roman Candles from the pugalistic pyromaniac punters, who had all snuck in these fireworks strapped to their legs!
These guys would sit there, light the candle, then poof! The first flare went up....and then down, landing on or around people sitting on the "FESTIVAL" seating floor! There were at least 20 of these concert regulars, all working these roman candles, through the entire opening act!
Occasionally, I watched and followed several candle flares down to the Rectum floor...then saw a scattering of sparks as a flare would sometimes land on a girl's head, which she then frantically brushed off her hair free of fire, aided by her friends!
Those pyrotechnic-wits were never bothered by concert security! Eventually during the Allman's great set, they just ran out of event "audience participation glitteri," and that was that!
It was then I realized that by being LATE, not in the best seat, this one time, provided a much improved concert experience!
I had just turned 17, and my concert experiences had begun!
THE BEST indoor fireworks display I ever saw!
( I was at a concert this past Saturday, May 18 ,2019, 3 days ago, aged 63- no fireworks, however!)!
Brilliant show Pete. We really need more of this stuff, it brought back so many memories from going to gigs back in the late 70's and throughout the 80's.
Such a blast to hear these stories. The more shows you went to it was inevitable this kind of stuff would happen. My first show was in 1991, oh my I wish I had been around for concerts in the 80s.
This was great Pete, those stories are gold. You gotta do a part 2 and maybe a 3 and a 4 if you want to divide it up by decade. I haven't been to a concert in ages and this made me think back to some of my own experiences as well.
These stories are great! I have a large stack of ticket stubs myself, and probably should try at some point at doing something similar.
But definitely do more of these! I'm loving the stories!
You're a very good story teller Pete!
I'm looking foward for the next rant on your 90's and 2000's concerts experiences.
My most memorable concert -- Rush, Hollywood Sportatorium 1981. Neil Peart was late to the show. So, they wouldn't allow entry until the band got a sound check. The crowd went nuts and crashed the gates. They sent in riot police (btw, the backup band was Riot) and helicopters. They tear-gassed us. If you've never been tear-gassed, it's like hot peppers rubbed in your eyes, with snot and spit running uncontrollably from nose and mouth as you gag for air. Many injuries and arrests. But, amazingly, the show went on. Best show, Moving Pictures tour. This show is documented on Wikipedia: Hollywood Sportatorium. One of the reasons Rush hates FL.
I've been to about 100 concerts. My very first was The Jackson 5 when I was about 13 or 14. My second was Frank Moreno and Mahogany Rush, opening for Styx on the Grand Illusion tour. Amazing concert. I saw Thin Lizzy and Journey in 1978 in the Warehouse down in New Orleans, shortly after that. That was pretty awesome too. The stage was about chest high and you could stand right up against it. Phil Lynott and company were like 3 feet in front of us. So awesome. It was their Black Rose tour. Other memorable concerts I've been to, First Annual Day of Rock and Roll in the Superdome, like 1979, featuring Sammy Hagar, Heart, Boston, Van Halen, Blue Oyster Cult and Nazareth. The music was great, but the organization was for shit. They only used one stage, and they had to break it down and reset it every time between bands. Took forever. Concert started at about noon, and ended about 3am the next morning. Tickets were $13.50 for all those bands. Kansas in 1980. Steve Walsh was amazing. He had to be on coke or some other stimulant, because he never stopped moving the whole concert. First time I saw a band use lasers in their show too. Saw KISS in 79, original lineup. I was a huge KISS fan at the time. They put on an amazing show. So many others, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper's From The Inside tour. So many great memories.
Great stories. Man how I wish I could've been alive back in your day. The 1980s were the best time to be a rock and Metal fan without a doubt. I'm especially jelous of the Dio and Ian Gillan fronted Black Sabbath shows. Would love to see part 2.
Love your concert stories. My mom always talked about seeing the Electric Elves at all these various shindigs growing up. Oddly enough, she had no idea who Ronnie James Dio was when I asked her years later.
One big concert memory involves Blue Oyster Cult in March, 1978, at Fort Wayne, Indiana's Allen Country War Memorial Coliseum. Be Bop Deluxe was the opening act. But the memory is hooked onto what Buck Dharma and BOC did for the fans. The local police departments were really clamping down on illegal drugs, marijuana, and underage drinking, and they surprised everyone with searches at the Coliseum doors. A lot of fans turned away and left, and a lot were arrested. My date and I made it through the searches and there were only about a thousand fans in a venue with a capacity slightly over 12, 000. Buck came out and addressed the crowd even before Be Bop Deluxe started playing and told us that they wouldn't cancel the concert because they knew about the searches. They rocked that place that evening. I've never forgotten that concert.
Many years ago I was a member of a national social club in the UK called 18plus. Every Easter groups from all over met up on the Norfolk coast for five days of partying. There was live bands, big name Radio DJ's and Motorhead were playing on the Good Friday. This was their first gig after Phil & Eddie left and they were now a four piece. The gig was great but it was memorable for me because of what happened during the day. I got to be a roadie for the day. I had volunteered the night before and got woken a 7am after partying until 4am by legendary roadie Cyclops. I spent the day with him and Eagle and another fan hauling speakers and lights and setting the gear up. We were told to hang around and about mid afternoon in walks Lemmy. He comes over and asks who we were. when we told him we had been helping out, he shouts to the barman to open up and pour some beers. we sat with him for about half an hour talking about music and stuff. But the one thing I will always remember is when he said he had become mates with the drummer of an American band who had just released their first album. He told us to watch out for them as he thought they would be huge as they were louder and faster the Motorhead. I always wondered what happened to Metallica.....:)
Neil Young's finale in Vancouver, a cover of A Day in the Life. His whole concert was fantastic but that alone was worth the price of admission. Supertramp Crime of the Century tour, with opening act Procal Harum, amazing. Leonard Cohen on his second to final tour, what class and what incredible musicians and back-up singers and Dire Straits, my most memorable. My biggest regret, not seeing Pink Floyd live
Thanks for the memories man....I'm 56 and had my share of concerts....kids these days don't have a clue what it was like back in the day....long live rock!!
In March 2001, I took my 12 yr old son to see Nazareth. He's been listening to them from day 1 (and still loves them in 2020). After the gig, we went to the Naz dressing room, and chilled out wirh the band. Dan McCafferty signed my boy's 1975 vinyl album of 'Dan McCafferty. Drummer, Lee gave my lad the drum sticks he'd played with that night. And Jimmy Murrison was very nice to us also. Whilst this was going on, I had a chat with keyboardist, Ronnie Leahy. When I complemented him on his non Naz work, he really appreciated it... esp when I mentioned his contribution to Jon Anderson's 'Song of seven.'
My first concert was Kansas in ‘78, with a friend and his father. I was 11 (!) I remember being overwhelmed and enthralled by the sound and visuals. Amazing experience. Question - does anyone know who opened for them? I have absolutely no recollection. This was in Richmond, Virginia. Another great post, Pete. Much appreciated! 🤘
google kansas 1978 tour opening acts. Most headliners use different bands based on what part of the country they were touring in at the time.
My first concert was todd trundgren /utopia and the outlaws odd combo for sure but excellent none the less the outlaws at this time were very big with songs like hurry sundown,ghost riders in the sky and three very good harmonizing guitar players,just great...Todd to was unbelievable with his drummer on the frame of a Harley hog surrounded with drums and cymbals above the stage spinning round and round and later he had a big movie screen with animation (i believe that he drew)with the words of the songs that he sang as he instructed us to sing along by following the bouncing ball GREAT FIRST CONCERT
Throughly enjoyed the recalling of your legendary memoirs, i.e., your immense concert records. You should be knighted as a great concert warrior. Lol. Also you don't like Poison that much either. I agree.
I could listen to this all day Pete. Keep it up! Great stories chocked with all those memories. Wow! Fantastic and funny! 😂
✌️🤟
I haven't been to a lot of concerts, because I only like to go hear my absolute favorite bands/musicians. But I remember walking from the parking lot to the venue for
Billy Squire/Bad Company/Styx concert, and telling my boyfriend that "someone was going to spill beer on me tonight".
Well sure enough, the woman sitting next to me, spilled her beer all over my lap. Luckily, it was near the end of the concert so I didn't have to smell like a brewery for too long. But probably the best concert I've ever been to...🎸🙂🥁
Great stories Pete. Our first stories are almost identical. I got into Sabbath in 1979 during the transition from Ozzy to Dio. My first show was Ozzy/Motorhead at the Aragon ballroom in Chicago.. and yes my dad dropped us off at the venue.
Oh man,the Slayer Felt Forum show was INSANE. I was 16 and terrified😳 You where right about the Monster Of Rock at Giants Stadium. I was in the swirl in front of the stage and it was a nightmare. After Metallica finished I moved to the middle of the field. Dokken blew but the Scorps where good. By the time VH came on I was ready to leave😴
I'm a few years younger than you, Pete, and I never got to as many concerts. But I did manage to see Rush seven times between 1988 (Hold Your Fire) and 2015 (R40), and Dio four times (twice with Heaven & Hell, twice solo). The Dio show the day after Thanksgiving 2000 had Doro and Yngwie opening, and now I'm going to see Yngwie again next week (also saw him in 2017). I never saw Stevie Ray Vaughn live, but I did talk to him once via a radio call-in show!
Pete really killer entertaining content as always, thanks for the memories
My pals and I were in a pub early one evening, when an older man sat at our table. He didn't say much during the 10 minutes at our table. Then he arose, said good-bye and left. 30 seconds later someone started with the bagpipes - it was the older man! He walked around the pub playing bagpipes, and then he walked onstage - the song changed to Hair of the Dog...The older guy was Dan McCafferty, my childhood idol and I have goosebumps, still. In a similar fashion we met Jeff Garcia in Calgary!
So, you didn't recognise your "childhood hero" Dan McCafferty? I still recognise Ozzy Osbourne. Hmmm bitta pish bein' telt here
My second big-name show ever was Black Sabbath, Orpheum, Boston, 1975. That was the "Sabotage" Tour. My son is so jealous that I saw the old school Sabbath with Ozzy lol.
First big-name show was Foghat/Black Oak/Montrose, same year, same venue.
The enduring memory is how damn LOUD those shows were. My ears rang all the next day. It blows my mind how those musicians could endure that night after night on tour. I guess they just get used to it, hey, they have to make some sacrifices to live the rock n roll life huh?
Huge fan here I love hearing stories of the golden age of rock! definitely make a part two great idea for a show.
I saw ZZ Top the first time they ever came to the UK (circa 1981). We managed to get front row tickets at Hammersmith Odeon to see them. Who came into the photographers pit between the stage and the front row? Only Lemmy, who stood right in front of me throughout the gig and who obviously enjoyed it all. I particularly liked it when they started playing 'Cheap Sunglasses' after donning very cheap dayglow sunglasses. Lemmy immediately put his shades on and danced along to the song. Great memory.
Lot's of great concerts Pete! My first concert was 1974 Black Oak Arkansas (Jim Dandy to the rescue ) My last was TOOL in 2003. So long ago. Never got to see Ozzy, Sabbath, Blackmore, or Dio.😭
Anyway,.. yes do a Part 2👍!!
🤟
Oh man Pete these stories are priceless! I love reliving these great shows through the eyes of an East Coast perspective. You’d die laughing if you saw the Polaroid of my buddy Paul’s beer goggles grin driving to Whitesnake in the car🤪Pine Knob Detroit
Great idea for the show Pete.
In about 1983-84 I went to a show at Cal Expo in Sacramento. I was 27-28. The bill was Stevie Ray Vaughn, Y & T, and Sammy Hagar. Y & T played first, and they were great. Next was SRV. The show had a quite younger crowd and they started booing Stevie. It got so bad that Sammy had to come out to tell the crowd to knock it off and give him a chance. Two years later Stevie would become a huge star.
These stories are AWESOME. Being same age, totally living them but here in the UK. Brilliant stuff. Off to watch pt2
Memorable: Rush on Hemipsheres and Permanent Waves tour at Nassau Coliseum. The Hemispheres one was a day before the Islanders were to win their first Stanley Cup at the Coliseum and the band came out in Islander jerseys for the encore. Local faves The Good Rats opened with guitarist John "The Cat" Gatto disappearing from the stage during a long solo then reappearing thru a door in the upper level of the Coliseum (one of the first wireless guitars!)
Great show a part 2 would be very much appreciated.
I would be interested to know what’s is the furthest you’ve traveled to a gig, or how far you would go to see a favourite band.
I’m seeing Metallica in Vienna in August and going to Rio in October to see Iron Maiden. Making a holiday experience out of a concert involving a favourite band is cool.
I’ve travelled to Ireland to see U2, London several times for the Stones and Bon Jovi.
Thank you for sharing your concert experiences, so cool to hear the history of early to late 80's hard rock concerts from your perspective. I'm definetely interested in seeing your part 2 video and how the early to mid 90's affected your concert experiences. Did you see some of the "Seattle Grunge" bands?
Saw Babes In Toyland,but my mate saw Nirvana,of which,I could have also gone!!!
A buddy and I went to see Boston on their Third Stage tour at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. We got the tickets the day of the show and went on a whim. We were both broke and 16 years old…and we hardly knew our way around downtown Pittsburgh. We saw the show, which was fine (I thought they sounded a little too perfect like I was listening to the albums) and then went back to the car.
Now, if you never drove in Pittsburgh, you should know that if you make one wrong turn it can be a 45 minute mistake. So, of course I made a wrong turn. And with my gas almost on E I had to drive 45 minutes out or my way.
During all this frustration a car cut me off on the highway. Being the dumb 16 year old kid I was, I drove next to the car and made rude tongue gestures to the girl in the passenger side.
So, a few miles up the road we were forced to get on to the Pennsylvania turnpike. We had NO money and no gas. We scraped a few coins from the floors and back seat as we approached the ticket window. After we felt we had enough coins we sat and chilled with my window down waiting for our turn to get a ticket. And that’s when a fist came through my open window and punched me in the eye! It was the guy who cut my off! He was yelling, “You want to make those gestures to my girl…huh? Get out and face me like a man!!” Petrified, I just rolled up my window and scooted up to get on the turnpike.
We actually made it home that night, driving about 30 miles with my gas needle below E.
So, yeah. That was the night I saw Boston.
Pete. Love your contributions to our era. Loudest concert me was Ted Nugent Free for All tour in 1978? So loud in front I lost my hearing for several days. But what a show.
I got a good one. Mike Oldfield Group at the Tower Theater Philadelphia 1981. All-Star band: Pierre Moerlen on drums, Morris Pert on percussion, Maggie Riley singing like an angel, and Oldfield was amazing on bass and lead guitars. Pekka on bass, Tim Cross on keys. Five Miles Out Tour and a great show. Got to see Ommadawn, Tubular Bells, Platinum, Taurus Two, and more. We had seats in the last row on the floor, but there was a ledge right behind us and sat on that all night. Perfect view of the stage. The copious amounts of THC consumed helped .
Here is a story:
Have you ever attended Two totally DIFFERENT concerts in the same night?! I DID!
December 3, 1975
To begin, In the Philadelphia suburban region, the towns of Blue Bell Pa., and the town of Bryn Mawr,Pa., on the suburban mainline are about 15 miles apart!
So, MY dilemma, a tough concert choice HAD to be made!
Up at Montgomery County College, Blue Bell, Pa. Hall & Oats with fabulous opener DAVID SANCIOUS and Tone were playing.
Meanwhile SAVOY BROWN featuring guitarist KIM SIMMONDS and future UFO keys/ guitarist Paul Raymond ( I just saw SAVOY/ Kim again, 3 days ago 5-18-2019! ) were playing at the Bryn Mawr MAIN POINT, a local Phila regional club!
David SANCIOUS had just released, "Transformation ( Speed of Love)," his 2nd album on EPIC records, and a critical FUSION tour de force!
So off to see David Sancious!
The Hall and Oats, D Sancious show began with a blistering set from Mr. SANCIOUS! It was hard to believe this great musician
actually played with Bruce Springsteen the year before- totally different!
In 45 minutes, Sancious' set was done! I recall even now the calculations I put into motion, the moment I realized there would be no Sancious encore!
Let's see...Bryn Mawr...still early...what about Hall and Oats ?!
POOF! I was out the door, running to my 1968 Olds Cutlass!
There were no super highways to Bryn Mawr! I knew the roads, it was Saturday, so traffic was light! I sped the whole way, cops be damned!
I actually made the Savoy Brown gig, and...SNUCK in! I had ONLY missed 3 songs...!
To this day, 43.5 years later, I have STILL yet to see Hall & Oats!
What a brilliant post. Hardly a rant, more of a fascinating insight to the highlights of your late teens. When you were telling the story of your 220 lbs mate jumping off the stage I was already laughing, as I saw the outcome before you told it 🤣...
As a relatively recent follower I felt like we were in the same mould, musically. I've been right with you with your posts on Sabbath, Purple, Zeppelin, Genesis, Yes... Even 10cc, Supertramp, Steely Dan & ELO. This post on concerts & some of the lesser known ones that you've featured, I'm feeling like we're running a 10k race & you've just lapped me for the 10th time !!! Roll on with your pt. 2.... 3.... 4, etc. Excellent !!
Fun topic, you went to alot of shows, must've been hilarious watching you and your friend trying to wave down your father to get the tickets back, love to see a part two.
Great show.Do part 2 .Love the memories .Sounds familiar .
That was awesome!! Pretty cool concert stories. Thanks for sharing the experiences.
So nice to hear those concert tales. Thank you for sharing.
I think we must be about the same age. So many of the concerts that you list, I had the privilege of attending. I kept almost every ticket and pass I ever got. On the Rainbow SBTE tour it was Pat Traver's opening in MN. Great video! Thanks.
Really great show! Enjoyed it a lot, especially 'cause I got some similar experiences which brought back great memories.
And thanks, you also answered -partly- my question I've asked you after yesterdays' Q&A.
part 2 , please! Very enjoyable video....it matters not, but my first concert was Tesla opening for Poison......Tesla killed it!! My pal was backstage and dumped a beer on CC's lid. Too funny.
I saw that tour in Ottawa. Tesla rocked. Poison was awful.
Pete how's your hearing these days?
All the concerts, all the close up volume, all the drinking, all the moshing. Damn.
But the fun! 😜
Sadly those were the glory days of concerts never to be repeated.
Fun show!! My first concert was Jimi Hendrix at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim CA, February 9th 1968. My sister took me for my 15th birthday!! Saw many shows there including ELP when "Welcome Back My Friends..." was recorded. Ahhh, sweet memories!!! YES, PART TWO!!!
Best double bill show was Metallica Justice Tour with Queensryche on their OMC Tour which they played the whole record and songs from Warning and Rage For Order . Just fantastic . I also caught that Krokus tour in 1984 had front row seats it was a Blistering show they were on The Blitz Tour and played a lot of those Killer Headhunter songs !! Coney Hatch opened this was in Houston at The Summit so a Jersey , Bon Jovi style band didn't go over to well . As for Krokus HeadHunter was their heaviest and best record . Long Stick goes boom was ok . Was disappointed Krokus didn't stay with that more Metal sound from HeadHunter ??
Great story’s Pete .Some crazy stuff used to happen to me when I used go to gigs back in the nineties it used to be so cheap you could go to loads of gigs cheers dean
Best concerts I ever saw: Led Zeppelin, Queen (NOTW tour), King's X, The Ventures, Van Halen, and Kansas. Regrets of early 80's concerts I missed: Ozzy w/ Randy Rhoads, Judas Priest & Iron Maiden, and Fates Warning / Attacker / Obsession.
The Ventures was that 1997?
I had the chance to see Metallica 4x (2004, 2009, 2011, 2015) Megadeth 4x (2004, 2007, 2010, 2012) The Rolling Stones (2015), Ac/Dc (2015), Roger Waters 2x (2012, 2017), Tool (2017), Black Sabbath (2014), Deep Purple (2017), Alice Cooper (2017), Lynyrd Skynyrd (2019), Testament (2010), Slayer (2010), The Foo Fighters (2018), The Black Keys (2013), The Smashing Pumpkins (2018), Red Hot Chili Peppers (2015), Neil Young (2018), Pearl Jam (2016), Slipknot (2009), Muse 2x (2013, 2016) ... pratically all in Quebec City, Canada....a couple in Montreal and Toronto... And I've juste learn that Rage Against The Machine is coming up this summer !! Can't wait !!
When you mentioned the opening band for the Sabbath show you saw in 1982, I remembered seeing that tour (in Iowa) but couldn't remember who the opener was at the show I saw. So I Googled the show date to find out who the opener was. I instantly ran into a link to a high quality soundboard recording from that tour of the show that I was AT. Ten minutes later, and I have it downloaded, and I'm hearing it again for the second time, 37 years later.
These are amazing times. (but the music was way better back then)
Fantastic stuff! I’d watch a part 2, 3 and 4. One of my most memorable concert experiences was at Deep Purple’s Knebworth reunion show in 1985. Toilet facilities were frankly medieval - I remember a kind of cesspit with a plank over it with holes cut in it. Anyway, this guy apparently tried to swig from a two litre bottle of cider while he was on the john and - not to put too fine a point on it - toppled into the mire. He was completely trashed and I’m not even sure he understood what had happened. Anyway during the day’s support bands (Alaska, Mama’s Boys, Scorpions, Meat Loaf) you could see the crowd parting from afar as if Moses was doing his thing, with this revolting hairy bloke in denims wandering through the middle. No prizes for guessing who that was.
Brilliant day but so wet, We had to help push the coach out of the mud on the way out of the field. Got home at about 5am and were stopped by the Police as we walked home asking us what we were doing at that time in the morning. Great memories!
Ian Gillard It was torrential wasn’t it! I can remember going absolutely crazy when Blackmore started the riff to Smoke on the Water and each part of the riff was bounced from speaker stack to speaker stack across the field. Such an amazing effect. The 16-year-old me was drenched but deliriously happy.
Patrick, Purple were my favourite band at the time but I was 20 in 1985 and obviously hadn't seen them first time around. I'd seen Whitesnake, Gillan and Rainbow at the time but this was the big one! I can clearly remember earlier in the day two light aircraft flying over the sight doing aerobatic stunts as well. Amazing reminiscing about it 34 years later on something called You Tube! We only had Kerrang! and the Friday Rock Show in those days.
Funnily enough I thought Meatloaf was a strange choice for that bill at the time, he certainly didnt "embrace the challenge" of a difficult crowd. I once saw Gary Moore walk of stage about 4 songs in to his set when he was in G Force and Michael Schenker in the early MSG days play a whole show with his back to the audience. Very disappointing as they are still 2 of my favourite guitarists of all time.
Dec. 1st, 1988 Savatage, Megadeth, and Dio at the Spectrum in Philly. This very show is memorialized in a live DVD of Dio's performance that night. Savatage came on like a hurricane! Completely blew away everyone that night. The Dio set was good but, the real news from the night was Megadeth laying a lukewarm turd in the middle of the night. Completely underwhelming set from those guys. They gave zero effort and looked as though they were being held, hostage. Never bothered to see them again and actually never bought another cd cassette or shirt from them after that crappy performance! Savatage ate their lunch and made Dio look like a scripted off-Broadway rock opera. Should have been one of the best shows ever. I saw Metallica four times from '84 to '88 and they never gave a half-assed performance like Megadeth did!
Hi Pete here's one you would have loved, 1978 melbourne Australia, my last year of High, my friend was a big Lizzy fan and introduced me to Live and Dangerous, turned out Lizzy were doing a free concert Oct0ber that year so a group of us went the night before to the myer music bowl, outdoor venue. To our surprise Thin Lizzy came and did a sound check, there were probably half a dozen of us with sleeping bags, Gary Moore, Phil and Scott gave us autographs, pins and plectrums ..a night I will never forget, we reserved front rows seats for the show the next night..best live gig I ever saw.
I was always good at "being the 3rd caller" to local FM stadio contests, and won tickets to Queen/Thin Lizzy at Nassau Coliseum. Queen was too loud but Lizzy was great, blew 'em off the stage.
lurch321 Queen got booed during the operatic vocal section of Bohemian Rhapsody just before the big guitar riff. The stage went dark and that part of the song was a tape of the studio album because there was no way they could duplicate that live. Lizzy was the opener, by the way...
@P Jet That seems a bit illogical on the fans' end because that's literally how Bohemian Rhapsody was played live, even up to today.
Seems a bit petty, considering this is the only "complaint" that this comment mentions about their performance.
People forget Queen were pretty dead, were in England til Live Aid
In October 1973. First concert was in Reno, Nevada. Rare Earth, Elvin Bishop, and a local band Skarow. Elvin Bishop never showed up. Next was Guess Who, Montrose, Elvin Bishop, and local band Redwing. That was in Sacramento. Next was the first time I saw the Doobie Brothers in Sacramento on March of 1974. Went to both Cal Jams in Ontario, CA. Saw the Doobie Brothers 4 times. The Moody Blues 8 times. The third show was with the Sacramento Symphony and was a great show. The next time seeing the Moody Blues was at Caesar’s Tahoe and ended up chatting with Gallagher. Seen many other shows and all were great. Last year saw Ringo Starr’s All Star Band with Gregg Rollie.
Great stuff Pete. You were a good mate for your drunk pal, most people would have just shoved him off in the direction of the toilets and left him.
Hello Pete, thx for another great show. It's always a pleasure to listen your enthusiastic love in music. But... i miss your great "History Of..." Shows; hope there will be another one soon. Journey, Styx, Foreigner, Kansas... this would be interesting... a lot of line-up changes in these bands.
Another suggestion could be a ranking or Top10 from some Solostuff from Pink Floyd. I would like to hear your opinion about the solo albums during the Floyd Activities: David Gilmour (ST), Wet Dream, Zee; About Face vs. Pros & Cons, Momentary Lapse vs. K.A.O.S., Division Bell vs. Amused To Death, this would be interesting. There a many Pink Floyd Reviews on UA-cam, but the Solostuff is very rare. Maybe someday :-) All the best for you, Chris from Germany (sorry, if my english isn't perfect.
Yes do a part 2 please. Enjoyed this. Thanks
Great show! Enjoyed the stories a lot! Hey, if you need inspiration for more top ten shows, you could always enlist a west coast guy...me! I have made top tens with honorable mentions for these artists you haven't done shows for yet: 10cc, Allman Bros, Ambrosia, Badfinger, CCR, Doobie Bros, Faces, Free, Peter Gabriel, George Harrison, Ian Hunter, John Lennon, Moody Blues, Mott The Hoople, Paul McCartney (solo), Santana, Sweet, and Traffic. Oh, and I made a list of 80 more to do in the future...
Cool video. I lived thru sms experiencef many of the shows you mentioned. Btw, dig the Barry Goudreau disc behind you. Dreams was a great tune in the summer of '80. Keep up the videos.
I was just 16 when we saw Rush touring Permanent Waves with Limelight supporting - you never saw Gillan at that time ? One of best atmosphere hard rock gig I ever attended. Saw Iron Maiden with 200 others at Bournemouth Town Hall on there first headline and Rob Halford a year later getting pushed over the Harley Davidson he leant against by a Patch Wearing Gentleman 😃 plus Tony Levin playing in support band called “ So “ before Steve Hackett in 82 probably. That’s All - thanks for being as old as me 👍
What memories! My first concert was also Ozzy. Diary tour June of 82' at San Diego Sports Arena. I remember it seemed very short and at the end I was like that's it? Of course Rhodes had just died a few months earlier. Major bummer. I just went back and read about the plane crash again. Damn.
Cool topic !! First was LZ for Houses at KEZAR I was 16.. Seemed like they were controlling the weather,,,was a sunny day (In SF, no less) then the clouds moved in during the voilin bow part of Dazed. During the full band, up tempo secttion, the sun came out again ! I just said to myself 'i gotta see more concerts !'. Did, Winterland, Cow Palace and the like and also clubs like The Keystone PA.
Saw a reformed Montrose in '84 with a former co guitarist of a band i was in for '82'/'83. We meet the sister of my wifes best friend there and invite her to sit with us. Show was incredible ! Afterwards we're in the parking lot waiting for her boyfriend (he didn't like rock) and she goes "there he is "" and takes off running. Me and my bud look at eachother and follow her. She had her arms around Ronnie Montrose! We caught up and all i could say was You F'ing Rocked!" and shook his hand. He just said ''Thank you". He was in the same sweaty T shirt he gigged in and his eyes were darting around. I said he should go.
The gal finally let him go, wiping a tear from her eyes. It was perfect. A guy i used to chat with @ Amazon discussion pages saw Uli Jon Roth at the Independent a couple of years ago. He said Uli made time stop. Unless you've seen something like i did that night, one might not know what he meant.
RIP, Ronnie.
My 1st show was Ozzy speak of the devil tour, Randy just passed & Brad Gillis filled in. I was so upset about it all, but he continued to tour. Great show, Brad was fantastic!
Talking of Bon Jovi, I have mentioned elsewhere about the gig at the Monsters of Rock headliner in England. (the one where Paul Stanley, Bruce Dickinson & Dee Snider came on for the encore). You mentioned screaming girls and I remember something similar. On the bill that day were WASP, Cinderella, Anthrax, Metallica and Dio, so not an entirely pussy line up. Donington did its usual thing, it rained. We nearly p___d ourselves laughing at all the ex-Duranies and George Michael girlie fans in their high heels, pixie boots and white jackets who had come to see Bon Jovi trudging through the Donington mud
YES! Please do some more of these I really enjoyed it.
Yes I totally agree with you about this Seventh Star tour; Wasp 🐝 never showed so we got AOR and you’re right Pete! Anthrax opened up and I met Joey Belladonna in the Boston Garden 🪴 Wasp a no show. No surprises there @‘ 85 Sincerely yours, DJP ex PostMortem and Kilslug Boston Massachusetts USA
Great story’s Pete. I am 50 and this reminds me so much of all the show’s I used to go to back in the day.😀
My first concert: German band Can, 2nd concert: Slade (Fanny opening), 3rd concert (1973) Deep Purple Mark 3 (awesome) (Alex Harvey Band opening), from then on....uncountable. Worst concerts: Led Zeppelin (just before the split), Genesis (first tour with Phil singing, they didn't play the stuff our girlfriends liked), Supertramp (boring)…..
I loved going to concerts back in the day...great stories, Pete....I was hoping your dog would jump up and show her beautiful face, but her bouncy tail was a highlight, nonetheless.............best concert I went to was kiss, and judas priest....worst was gun and roses, and white lion, im glad I didn't purchase those tickets, they were both given to me
Cheers Pete nothing better than stories on the road i have a plenty myself but nowhere near as many as you. Thank you my friend
Pete, great stories!
I also spent almost every weekend at Sundance in Bayshore, saw many great shows there including Slayer with Toby Scaglioni drumming
Great episode! Everyone needs a fun loving 6 foot 6 inch metal head to hang out with.
Good show, enjoyed the stories. Because I know you're winging it this is an observation rather than a criticism - you could have told the stories with a slightly more relaxed delivery. But had you done so you would have lost some of the excitement and enthusiasm. Maybe you could do a 'top ten gig experiences' or 'top ten gig related stories' in the future? Don't change anything for 'Part 2' of this though.
Really enjoyed that Pete - one of your best! Made me laugh.
Yes, part 2 please. I'm only a few years younger than you and so far have not been to any of the same shows. Lived in NJ at the time and saw a lot of shows at the Meadowlands, MSG, Roseland, Radio City, etc.
Great show.... gotta do part 2
We caught a lot of the same tours... first real concert was Sabbath Mob rules tour Dec. of 81
Chicago international amphitheater. Great awesome show✌️🎶🍺🤘
First: Dio, Sacred Heart tour 1986, Festival Hall, Melbourne
Best: Linkin Park, 2012ish, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne (1st concert with son)
Worst: Kiss 1994ish, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne (no make up, no energy, no interest, guy to my left had worst BO ever, guy to wife's right threw up). Left early
Loudest: Motorhead 1990ish, Festival Hall, Melbourne - too loud to hear
Disappointing sound: Def Leppard 1992 Rockit tour, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne - echos in the rafters
Weirdest crowd: Dream Theater, 2014, Palais Theatre Melbourne - crowd in front of Rudess all bald, crowd in front of Petruci remained seated until 3/4 way through show.
Favourite Venue: The Palace, Melbourne - big pub with beer, Nirvana, Cheap Trick (x2), Yngwie Malmsteen, Prefab Sprout etc etc
As I look at my stubsI see that I was at a lot of shows you were at between 1984-1986 I'd have to say that 1981-1988 were the absolute best metal concerts in history!
God damn! You witnessed all the giants!!!! What an honor!!!
Funniest video you've ever done. I'm hysterical through some of these stories.
Thats a trip first time i saw sabbath with ronnie was mob rules also and the outlaws,the forum in la.Outlaws didnt get booed and were actually pretty good.First concert that i ever saw was black sabbath never say die tour with the ramones opening up at long beach arena 1978 and they got pelted with all kinds of shit.I had no idea who they were and i think a lot of people also didnt know who they were.it sucks because the night before in san diego van halen opened ,that would have been so awesome to see.Oh ya by the way i was 9 and it was 6th row.Thank god for my cool older brother.
I saw Ronnie James Dio's final concert performance in 2009 in Atlantic City with Heaven and Hell. Doesn't get more memorable than that.
I was also at the RUSH/Rory Gallagher show at MSG in 1982. SIGNALS Tour. That was my first RUSH show. I saw them on every tour after that for the rest of their career, including the Radio City Music Hall shows (pre-Grace Under Reassure).
My first concert was 1983. Ozzy Osbourne/ Accept. It was the Bark at the Moon tour of course. I thought Jake E Lee was the shit. I was only 12 and am still surprised my mom let me go. Got pretty wasted and threw up in the stands. Lol damn good times.
I’ve kept track of every show I’ve been to. I even gave each concert a five-star rating…
(I don’t expect anyone to read all of this. But this is just to give people an idea on my concert diary)
-1978
-Kiss/New England (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ***1/2
1979
-Neil Diamond (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ***
1984
-Bull Moose Jackson and the Flashcats (Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh, PA) ***
1985
-Dio/Rough Cutt (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
1986
-Pat Benatar/The Alarm (Civic Arena Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-Twisted Sister/Dokken (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ***1/2
1987
-Crosby, Stills & Nash/The Fabulous Thunderbirds (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) *****
-Boston/Fahrenheit (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) **1/2
-David Lee Roth/Cinderella (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ***1/2
-Heart/Bourgeois Tagg (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ***1/2
-Rush/Tommy Shaw (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ***
1988
-Cinderella/Winger/Bullet Boys (AJ Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, PA) **1/2
-Bob Dylan (Civic Arena Pittsburgh, PA) **1/2
-Crosby Stills & Nash (AJ Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-Ozzy Osbourne/Anthrax (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ***1/2
1989
-Stevie Nicks/The Hooters (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ***
-Elton John (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) *****
-Jethro Tull/ It Bites (AJ Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, PA) ***1/2
-David Crosby Syria Mosque Pittsburgh ***1/2
-Pink Floyd (Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-The Rolling Stones/Living Colour (Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA) ***1/2
-Crosby/Nash (I.C. Light Amphitheater, Pittsburgh, PA) ****1/2
1990
-The Grateful Dead/Crosby, Stills & Nash (Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA)***
-Don Henley/Raindogs (Starlake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA) ***
-Bo Diddley (Point State Park, Pittsburgh, PA) ***
-Oingo Boingo (Pitt Campus, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-The Clarks/The Zippers (The Decade, Pittsburgh, PA) (since then, I’ve seen The Clarks over 40 times) ****
-Alice Cooper/The Front (Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-Mary-Chapin Carpenter (Graffiti, Pittsburgh, PA) *****
-The London Quireboys (The Newport, Columbus, OH) ***
-.38 Special (Ohio State Fair, Columbus, OH) ***
1991
-Pat Metheny Group (Penn State University, State College, PA) ****
-REO Speedwagon (Beta Sigma Beta Sy Barash Regatta, Bald Eagle State Park, Howard, PA) ***1/2
1992
-Hall & Oats and Pat Benatar (Starlake Amphitheater, Pittsburgh, PA) (missed H&O) ***
-Stephen Stills/America (I.C Light Amphitheater, Pittsburgh, PA) ***1/2
-Clint Black/Mary-Chapin Carpenter (Starlake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA)****
1993
-Savatage/ X-15 (Rosebud’s, Ft. Lauderdale, FL) **1/2
-REO Speedwagon [and a local band] (I.C. Light Amphitheater, Pittsburgh, PA) ***
1994
-Pink Floyd (Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-Rush/Candlebox [missed Candlebox] (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-Metallica/Fight/Suicidal Tendencies (Star Lake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA) ***1/2
-Nine Inch Nails/Marilyn Mason/Jim Rose Circus (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-Crosby, Stills & Nash/ Michel Hedges (Star Lake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA) ****
-The Band (Metropol, Pittsburgh, PA) **1/2
-Mary-Chapin Carpenter/The Mavericks (A.J. Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, PA) ***1/2
-Lollapallooza 94: Smashing Pumpkins/Beastie Boys/George Clinton/The Breeders/
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Star Lake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA) ***
-Crosby, Stills & Nash/ Fleetwood Mac ***1/2
-Eric Clapton/Jimmy Ray Vaughn (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-Queensryche/Type O Negative (Star Lake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA) ****
1995
-Stephen Stills (I.C Light Amphitheater, Pittsburgh, PA) *****
-REO Speedwagon/Pat Benatar/Fleetwood Mac (Star Lake Amphitheater, Burgettstown, PA) ****
1996
-Phish (Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA) ****
-Lollapallooza 96: Metallica/Soundgarden/Method Man/Ramones/Corner Shop
(the bands I saw) (Charles Town Raceway, Charles Town, WV) ****
-Pat Benatar/Steve Miller (Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA) (missed Steve Miller) *****
1997
-Dio/My Dying Bride (X-Hale, Frederick, MD) ****
-Crosby Stills & Nash (Wolf Trap, Fairfax, VA) ****
-Matthew Sweet (The 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.) ***
-The Verve Pipe/Tonic (The 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.) ***
-Mighty Joe Plum (The 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.) ***
-Styx/Pat Benatar (Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA)****
-The Rolling Stones/ Sheryl Crow (Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, Landover, MD) *****
-John & Mary (of 10,000 Maniacs) (Thursday’s Bridgewater, PA) **1/2
-Little Feat/Dickey Betts (The L.C., Columbus, OH)***
-Ozzfest 2004: Black Sabbath/Judas Priest/Slayer (bands I saw) (Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, OH) ****
-Sponge (???, OH) ***1/2
-Josh Todd (Alrosa Villa, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Hank Williams, Jr. **1/2 (Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, OH)
-Metallica/Godsmack [missed Godsmack] (Value City Arena, Columbus, OH)***
2005
-Mitch Hedburg [standup comedy] (Mershon Auditorium, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Social Distortion (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ****
-Ozzfest: Iron Maiden/Shadows Fall/Black Label Society (bands I saw) (Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, OH) 2005 ***1/2
-The White Stripes (Ohio Theater, Columbus, OH) ****
-Audioslave/Seether (Veterans Memorial, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Social Distortion/The Dead 60’s (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ***1/2
2006
-The Clarks/Watershed (The Newport, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Buckcherry/Rock n Roll Soldiers (Alrosa Villa, Columbus, OH) ****1/2
-Pat Benatar (Dublin 4th of July, Dublin, OH) *****
-Counting Crows/The Goo Goo Dolls (Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, OH) ***
-Merle Haggard/Pam Tillis/McGuffey Lane (Beulah Park Racetrack, Grove City, OH) ****
-Iron Maiden/Bullet for My Valentine [Missed BFMV] (The Palace at Auburn Hills, MI) ***1/2
-Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, OH) ****
-The Black Keys (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Coheed and Cambria (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ***
-Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band/ Eric Church (Quickens Loan Arena, Cleveland, OH) *****
-Wolfmother/The Icaris Line [missed The Icaris Line] (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ****
2007
-Wing Zing: Lou Gramm/Dickey Betts/Bruce in the USA (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Ozzfest 2007: Ozzy Osbourne/Lamb of God (Bands I saw) (First Niagara Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA) ***
-Pat Benatar (Ohio State Fair, Columbus, OH) *****
-The Silversun Pickups/The Cliks/ VHS Or Betta (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ****
-Rush (Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, OH) ****
-Avenged Sevenfold/Operator (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-The Cult/Action Action/The Cliks [missed The Cliks] (The Newport, Columbus, OH) ****
2008
- The Black Crowes (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ****1/2
2009
-The Airborne Toxic Event (The Basement, Columbus, OH) ****
-Metric (The Newport, Columbus, OH) ****
2010
-Murder By Death/Ha Ha Tonka/Linfinity (The Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH) *****
-Cinderella/ American Dog (The L.C., Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Kiss/The Academy Is… [missed The Academy Is…] (First Niagara Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA) ****1/2
-Blue Oyster Cult (Obetz Zucchinifest, Obetz, OH) ***1/2
2011
-The Phantods @ Lebowski Fest (Skully’s Music-Diner, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Crosby/Nash ***1/2 (Midland Theater, Newark, OH)
-Social Distortion/Chuck Ragan/Sharks ***1/2 (The L.C., Columbus, OH)
2012
-Flogging Molly ***1/2 (Crew Stadiam, Columbus, OH)
-Roger Waters: The Wall ***** (Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA)
-CD1025 Summerfest with Metric and Ben Kweller/The Lumineers [Bands I saw] (The L.C., Columbus, OH)****
-Say Anything/Murder By Death/ The Sidekicks [missed Say Anything] (The Newport, Columbus, OH) ****
-The Sword with Eagle Claw/Gypsyhawk (A&R Music Bar, Columbus, OH) ****1/2
2013
-Sheena Easton **1/2 (Hollywood Casino, Columbus, OH)
-Everclear (Hollywood Casino, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Murder By Death/Frontier Ruckus/ White Pines (The Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH) ****1/2
-Rock on the Range- Bands I Saw: Soundgarden/Alice in Chains/ Smashing Pumpkins/Bush/The Sword/Clutch/Volbeat/Ghost/In This Moment/Lamb of God/Red/Stone Sour/Halestorm/Bullet for My Valentine ---Comedians: Bill Squire/Bob Cook/Big Jay Oakerson/Jim Florentine/Ari Shafir/Dan Swartwout (Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio) ****1/2
-Gregg Allman (Eldorado Scioto Downs, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
2014
-America and The Beach Boys (Celeste Center, Columbus, OH) ***
2015
-Murder By Death/O’Death (The Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH) ***1/2
-The Moody Blues (The Palace Theater, Columbus, OH) ****
-Pat Benatar (The Joint, Las Vegas, NV) *****
-Mastodon/Clutch/Graveyard (The LC, Columbus, OH) ****1/2
-The Rolling Stones/Kid Rock (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH) *****
-Rush (Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Baroness/Earthling (Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH) ****
-Graveyard/Earthless (Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH) ****
2016
-Iron Maiden/The Raven Age (The Palace at Auburn Hills, MI) ****1/2
-Sting/Peter Gabriel (Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH) ****1/2
-The Bacon Brothers (Hollywood Casino, Columbus, OH) **1/2
-Sturgill Simpson (Express Live, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Opeth and the Sword (Goodyear Theater, Akron, OH) *****
2017
-Rock on the Range: Bands seen: Red Fang/Norma Jean/Gojira/Live/Corey Taylor/The Dillinger Escape Plan/Primus/Amon Amarth/Volbeat/Metallica (One song) (Mapfre Stadium, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Neil Diamond (Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH) ****
-Iron Reagan/Homewrecker/Child Bite (Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH)
-Roadcase Royale (Used Kids Records Performance/Meet and Greet, Columbus, OH) *****
-Gojira/Torche/Code Orange (Newport, Columbus, OH) *****
-Truckfighters/Zeke/Telekinetic Yeti/Against the Grain (Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
2018
-Ghost (Express Live, Columbus, OH) ***
-The Sword/The Shelter People (Skully’s Music Diner, Columbus, OH) ****
-Mastodon/Primus/JJUUJJUU (Express Live, Columbus, OH) ***
-Social Distortion/Low Cut Connie/Aaron Lee Tasjan (Express Live, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-Spirit Adrift/Akula/Druid (Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH) ***1/2
-David Byrne/Benjamin Clementine (Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, OH) *****
-Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers (John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons, Columbus, OH) ***
-Ian Anderson Presents Jethro Tull 50th Anniversary (Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, OH) ***1/2
-Ziggy Marley/Steel Pulse (Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, OH) ***1/2
-Wasted Theory/Wolftooth/Pale Grey Lore *** (Victory’s, Columbus, OH) (Missed Wasted Theory)
-Elton John **** (The Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH)
2019
-Ben Pirani *** (Used Kid Records, Columbus, OH)
-Yob/Voivod/Amenra ***1/2 (Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH)
Killer pete is the man reminds me of my brother love live shows I’m gonna go looking for his shoe box of concert stubs Never quite understood but it was the pride and joy be for he passed
I remember seeing Rush and Riot back in 1981,Hollywood ,FL ..An actual riot broke out,and we all got teargassed...
My favorite concerts were Rush, Scorpions and Aerosmith. My worst concerts were Van Halen and Guns 'N Roses.
During the Aerosmith reaction to the gig, you almost recited the lyrics to Hell's Bells Pete 😁👍
First rock shows in 1988. Def Leppard and Ozzy both at the Worcester Centrum in MA. Best show ever was Pink Floyd, 4th row at the old Foxboro Stadium in 1994.
Love the concert experiences my first concert wernt rock was with my parents early 70s paul simon Andy Williams stuff like that my first rock concert was alice cooper welcome to my nightmare awesome concert after that was frampton got married and had kids so didnt really go to concerts till the 90s since then been to a few cant afford the price of concert tickets anymore its ridiculous forgot I saw the monkees in 86
Rory Gallagher at the Bayou in DC. UFO when second album was released in a night club sitting at a round bar/night club table right in front of them, might have been 50 people there. Johnny Winter and with Foghat opening on the Rock n Roll album tour opening at Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia Maryland. Motorhead opening for Ozzy Towson, MD. Still have Lemmy, Phil and Eddie's autograph from that. Clash at Ontario Theatre in DC on the Give em Enough Rope tour. Pretenders when second album was released at Painters Mill, Owings Mill MD AC/DC with Bon Scott Savoy Brown opened also Painters Mill. Ramones with the Runaways opening Painters Mill. Humble Pie on the Smokin tour Baltimore Civic Center. Saw Montrose there too. Being in the U.S. never got to see Status Quo or Slade in the prime. Only two I never saw live that I wish I had.
Ozzy Osbourne was my first concert also during the ultimate sin tour! Sacramento,CA Cal Expo amphitheater 1986! Metallica was supposed to open up but cancelled! So blue oyster cult replaced them, still was a good show.\m/