zom-zom wrote:Alice Cooper, Duluth Arena 1974

You win.

galanter wrote:My first college concert was the James Gang. Here are my excuses. I was a freshman, I wanted to meet co-eds, I was too young to get into bars, and there is nothing to do in Charleston Illinois.

My first punk concert was the New York Dolls at the Aragon Ballroom on or close to New Years eve in (I think) 1973. No excuses needed. Some will disagree as to whether they can properly be called "punk." If you had been there you wouldn't. Possibly the only concert that actually changed my life.

James Gang: No excuses required.

NYDolls: Despite how lame/atrocious this band is/was, this is a super badass claim to first-concertedness.

Salut! Galanter.

steve wrote:

galanter wrote:My first college concert was the James Gang. Here are my excuses. I was a freshman, I wanted to meet co-eds, I was too young to get into bars, and there is nothing to do in Charleston Illinois.

My first punk concert was the New York Dolls at the Aragon Ballroom on or close to New Years eve in (I think) 1973. No excuses needed. Some will disagree as to whether they can properly be called "punk." If you had been there you wouldn't. Possibly the only concert that actually changed my life.

James Gang: No excuses required.

NYDolls: Despite how lame/atrocious this band is/was, this is a super badass claim to first-concertedness.

Salut! Galanter.

Agreed. Galanter wins, although Zom is close if it was the original ACB that he saw, and not the Hunter/Wagner version. However, that version would still be an impressive event to be able to put on your CV.

August 18th 1978 Nassau coliseum Black Sabbath and Van Halen

First viewing of a live music performance:

Nana Mouskouri aound 1976

Second viewing of a live music performance:

Nana Mouskouri aound 1977

First "rock" show:

Beach Boys in 1980

First "punk" show and life changing experience:

SNFU in 1986 (should have seen them much earlier since I lived in their hometown of Edmonton but it's hard to shake off the yoke of being a Rush fan).

First arena show: Aerosmith and Guns N Roses in circa 1988.

First club show: Repeater-era Fugazi w/ Clockhammer circa 1990.

Brett Eugene Ralph wrote:

zom-zom wrote:Alice Cooper, Duluth Arena 1974

You win.

I will add that The James Gang opened. Not sure who was in it at that point though.

First show I ever went to was a garage show that featured a band with the future ex-drummer to Alkaline Trio and the very first line-up of the Smoking Popes. It was awesome, Smoking Popes - believe it or not - were once a good band. I still have their first 7". G.A.D. - the band with the future ex-Alkaline Trio drummer - was awesome, too, but their album was only available on tape (bad move).

My first concert was seeing the Rollins Band in Orlando, FL in the year 1997.

I went with a pal of mine, Jake Carris, who was a total balla on our Little League baseball teams. He was like 300 pounds at the time, but he eventually lost a bunch of weight by going on the Atkins Diet. Anyway, at that time, he was so heavy that he couldn't stand up for the two and a half hour period. His knees were killing him. I felt bad. The band was actually really good. I think that their musicianship was similar to Helmet's, which is another band that works in a similar vein.

I had just gotten interested in punk after reading Rollins' book, GET IN THE VAN. For guys my age, this book was *crucial* in getting us to discover punk, even though there was much faux-Rimbaud poetaster nonsense clogging up its veins. Although I'm not too big of a fan of his anymore, I still credit him with getting me interested in underground music. After that, it was the Misfits (whom I also saw in their re-formed lineup, at the Disney House of Blues--talk about a surreal experience; imagine walking around Disney, seeing sun-burned British tourists mingled amongst devilock-wearing goth teens who had just sniffed glue and Oxys in their Volkswagens) and Fugazi. I saw Fugazi in 1999, when I was sixteen years old. They were outstanding. I learned how to play bass "hardcore-style" by playing along to the entire Minor Threat Discography CD.

I still can't play as fast with a pick as Watt did on those early Minutemen CDs. That guy was a P.I.M.P. of the first order of magnitude.

First ever ever: Neil Diamond, with mom. I was 7 or 8.

First one I chose to go to and am ashamed to admit: U2, 1990. The tour with all the TVs.

First (albeit big) club show I was brought to: Ramones, Spring 1994.

First (life-changing) one that I'm proud to admit: Bedhead, Jan. 1995.