Concerts...

[lesbiaphrodite]

Red Hot Chili Peppers/1st

Aretha Franklin/Most Memorable

 

[iluvyou3638]

That's always bonus points.

i practically fainted. i have a recurring fantasy about fucking all 3 guys from green day at the same time......

 

[oggbashan]

I think the first: Lola Flores, legendary flamenco singer, live in Andalucia in the early 1950s.

Og

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I think the first: Lola Flores, legendary flamenco singer, live in Andalucia in the early 1950s.

Og

Oooo, I've seen films of her. Magnificant!

 

[Darkniciad]

One and only: Aerosmith in Lexington, KY. Three solid hours of Aerosmith - no opening band.

The trip was so well planned that we had to hock off a pair of my buddy's hundred-some-odd-dollar sunglasses for $20 worth of gas money to get home

 

[OhMissScarlett]

The first: Billy Idol

Best?
That's really difficult. I've seen so many good shows, it's hard to pick. Here's a few of the highlights:
Soul Asylum/Jayhawks
7 Seconds/Bad Brains
Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Dave Matthews/G Love
Duran Duran
Tool/Helmet

 

[fifty5]

Not sure which was the first, but the two were:

The Scottish National Orchestra in Edinburgh - god that female tympanist was hot!

and Bob Dylan on the Isle of Wight - shame I fell asleep during The Band's preliminary set!

 

[ABSTRUSE]

My most memorable.........Peggy Lee

I've seen Heart several times, to not hear Ann Wilson in person is a crime.
The most fun was Billy Idol and the Cult.
Taylor Dayne was funny because I walked passed her after the concert and thought....god she looks familiar, I think I went to high school with her.

The Jams in Philly were great fun too.


but right now, I'd settle for some Puccini.

 

[slyc_willie]

The first concert I attended was Nena, in Frankfurt, '83 or '84. I thought I was in love from the 32nd row.

I've seen Journey four times, all with their new lead singer Steve Augeri. Much better than Steve Perry, and without the ego. Seriously.

Sting puts on a hell of a show, too. His Brand New Day tour was incredible. Hands down, Sting is my favorite musical storyteller.

But the best concert, without a doubt . . . I've seen them on December 23rd for the past three years and will go again this year. Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The best. Period.

 

[TE999]

First: A Rock N' Roll extravaganza when I was 16. Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, The Coasters, The Crests, Del Shannon, The Spaniels, The Diamonds and The Platters.

They'd do their hits and the next act would come on.

Most memorable: Seeing Dire Straits from the 10th row. I was practically deaf for 2 days. What a hoot!

Mark Knopfler is a guitar genius.

 

[matriarch]

The only 'pop/rock' music concerts I've ever been to, are the ones where I acted as second roadie to my sons' band when they were together and doing live gigs.

Otherwise for me it's classical all the way.

I can't even remember the first, but the most memorable, most definitely was the year when Mat Jr. was 11, and for his birthday, he and I went to London, stayed in a swank hotel off Leicester Square, and that evening went to The Colliseum, home of English National Opera for a performance of Handel's Xerxes, which was on to celebrate his 300th birthday. It was fantastic. Why that opera? Because I had a video of it, recorded New Year's Eve before, and he and eldest sprog kept interrupting when I was watching. I gave them the choice, either sit down and watch with me, or get out of the room until it's finished. They stayed and loved it, so much so, they could do a pretty good copy of one of the comic duets between the leading sopranos. It was hilarious, but very good. When I discovered they were doing that opera as part of the celebrations I decided to go, and Mat Jr. asked if he could come too.

The opera was fantastic, the singing world class - of course, but the bits that stick in my memory are Mat Jr's face when we first entered the auditorium and he saw the inside of the theatre. It's old and very ornate. We were in the front row of the balcony (You don't want to know how much those tickets cost me!), he leaned forward on the balcony wall, chin on hands, and was spellbound from the minute we went in, until we got back to the hotel.

Magic memories.

I've been to many operas, ballet and shakespeare, usually at The Mayflower Theatre in Southampton - Welsh National, The old Vic, Royal Shakespeare Company, English National Ballet, and last year, the Bolshoi Ballet doing NutCracker. And also a performance of the musical, 'Chess', starring Elaine Page, and a very proffessional version of The Pirates of Penzance, starring big names. Great fun. I'm a great fan of Gilbert and Sullivan.

We have smaller companies that travel around performing in smaller provincial theatres, and of course, local theatre groups that do stirling work for the community. When I can, I support them all.

 

[oggbashan]

... And also a performance of the musical, 'Chess', starring Elaine Page, and a very proffessional version of The Pirates of Penzance, starring big names. Great fun. I'm a great fan of Gilbert and Sullivan.

...

I'm a Gilbert and Sullivan fan too. I still have the programmes from when my parents performed in amateur versions in Gibraltar. My favourite memory is Yeomen of the Guard with Gibraltar's Town Walls as backdrop. When Will Shadbolt fired a "musket" from the wall they had recruited the Army to provide the sound effect. The Army fired a howitzer. The question "Who fired that shot?" was greeted with howls of laughter as everyone in Gibraltar knew and were deafened.

My favourite G&S performance was one that I had effectively paid for:

I was a guest of the wardroom on one of Her Majesty's Ships and the tradition is that the "guest" pays for the drinks for one night of their sojourn. At the wardroom's suggestion I chose a night when we should have been in port but weren't going to be because of operational considerations. I intended to pay for the drinks as some compensation for the loss of a night ashore. It was no great deal as all the wardroom drinks were really duty-free. A shot of whisky or gin cost 3d (now equivalent to slightly more than 1p or about 2 cents US).

However, the operational considerations were changed and we did go into port but only for a few hours. Someone asked the entire Ladies chorus of the touring D'Oyly Carte company to have drinks on board after their performance and laid on transport from the theatre and back to their hotel. My bill for the evening came to £2.10.6 (about 5 dollars).

The Ladies repaid their hospitality with a few songs from Iolanthe.

I consider that my bill was cheap for the experience. The officers of the wardroom taught me poker. Beginner's luck meant that by the end of the voyage I had recouped the total account but I paid it anyway "for ship's entertainment".

Og

 

[SensualCealy]

Not sure which came first, Johnny Winters or Eurithmics.

Most memorable: Jimmy Buffet last fall in Toronto!

 

[buxxxom]

First: Elvis, with my mom and her friends. They had an extra ticket, and dragged me along.

Most memorable: tie between Springsteen ('nuff said) and Elvis. Elvis probably because I was young, and had no idea my mom could behave the way she did! Boy, were my eyes opened.

 

[carsonshepherd]

I tell people my first concert was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 83 at the Illinois State Fair, but actually, it was Kenny Rogers in Springfield IL earlier that same year. There, you all know the truth. *shame*

Most memorable and important - probably when I saw Jane's Addiction in January 1991. I was only 16 and my mom wouldn't let me go alone, but she let me go with my very dear friend Brian, who passed away suddenly this January, and my boyfriend and I realized that was the very first time we ever met, when Brian introduced us that night. I'll never forget being there with him, especially now that he's left us.

Other memorables - wow, so many
Soul Asylum/Jayhawks that Scarlett mentioned
Sugar/Goo Goo Dolls/Vic Chesnut in Columbia, Missouri
Bob Dylan, 2nd row center in Milwaukee
lots of others, fantastic music and people and memories. I cherish them all.

 

[Bizkit_Writer]

My first was Pantera with White Zombie and with The Deftones Opening in summer of 1996 in Hartford Connecticut. It was magical.

I think it was the most memorable too because thats the one I really remember really well.

 

[S-Des]

Obviously ones I played in are far more memorable to me. Favorite big concert would have to be Metallica (several times), who were amazing live, along with Kiss at the World Music Theater. I also have a lot of fond memories of seeing local bands I was competing with (once in 40 below zero temps when our car was the only one to show up ). There were some great musicians, some of whom went on to very big things. We used to have parties in the storage facilities (cheap practice spaces) with a band who eventually became Disturbed.

 

[Belegon]

The first concert I attended was Nena, in Frankfurt, '83 or '84. I thought I was in love from the 32nd row.

I've seen Journey four times, all with their new lead singer Steve Augeri. Much better than Steve Perry, and without the ego. Seriously.

Sting puts on a hell of a show, too. His Brand New Day tour was incredible. Hands down, Sting is my favorite musical storyteller.

But the best concert, without a doubt . . . I've seen them on December 23rd for the past three years and will go again this year. Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The best. Period.

My favorite "themed" concert is also a Christmas show... The Brain Setzer Orchestra. They put everyone to dancing and I've always loved his showmanship and talent... and his love for performing still shines through after having been doing it for 30 years...

Besides, how can you not love The Nutcracker Suite done by a big swing band with a true guitar legend leading the orchestra?

 

[cloudy]

Favorite big concert would have to be Metallica (several times), who were amazing live

Saw them in LA so many times that it got boring - this was back before they became big, and were playing at places like the Roxy.

 

[Nirvanadragones]

First: Johnny Clegg
Best: Just Jinger
Most memorial: Judith Sephuma

Are my roots showing?

 

[Guest]

First was New Kids on the Block. It was fucking horrific, but well worth it as I took my girlfriend for her birthday, and lost my virginity after the show. I'm sure she was thinking about Marky Mark's brother the whole time, but whatever, small price to pay for the popping of one's cherry.

Best ever was Slobberbone at a small venue during a horrid blizzard with about 8 people in attendance, and they played their balls off for three hours like it was a jammed stadium.

Most memorable in a good way is Garbage at a tiny venue before they even released their first album. We had thought it was some local band with super hot lead singer until they introduced themselves, and I was all "wait, did he say Butch Vig? Like 'I produce Smashing Pumpkins' Butch Vig?" Ironically enough exactly one year earlier at the same exact venue we got to see some nobody hottie with her first album coming out named Alanis Morissette. So two years in a row at the same venue we saw powerhouse acts before they broke through. The third year we tried? Not so much.

Most memorable in a bad way would be about half the Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown shows I've seen. About half his shows are pretty great. The other half he's a drunk, surly asshole who forgets that the Replacements were great DESPITE being drunken assholes, not because of it.

I've seen the Jayhawks over fifty times, and they're so goddamn good I won't mention them, because it's not fair to other bands.

 

[Boota]

First - my parents took me to see Dolly Parton when I was about four, but if that doesn't count it was Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Armored Saint in 1984.

Most memorable - Motley Crue - Carnival of Sins tour 2006. Even after years of working in the big concert industry and being jaded by dealing with "rock stars" they flat blew me away. They're in their 40's and 50's and playing with energy and enthusiasm that would make 20 year old's jealous.

 

[Katyusha]

First: MC Hammer when I was in the sixth grade and "U Can't Touch This" was still popular.

Most Memorable: Five Iron Frenzy, where I got to meet the lead singer alone.

 

[jomar]

First: MC Hammer when I was in the sixth grade and "U Can't Touch This" was still popular.

Most Memorable: Five Iron Frenzy, where I got to meet the lead singer alone.

Do tell?

 

[Katyusha]

Do tell?

I wish it was something...sordid...he was sooooo handsome. It was an outdoor concert...what happened was I waited for the crowds to disperse, and then I went over and talked to him while he was helping load their truck.