My First Concert- What was Yours?

[Out-Of-Phase]

Not a big Beatles fan.

But wished I'd got to see this tour in June of 77 MSG
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I saw them in 1977. Peter Grant peeked out at the audience from the side of the stage during the show. And I got yelled at by their road manager Richard Cole. Oh, Brother.

 

[Bucknekked]

Wow. what a great thread and trip down memory lane. Let's see if I can remember all the ideas.

Jethro Tull. Saw them in Alabama. What a show. A rock band with a flute player in a leotard? What? Fantastic

Grand Funk . Yes. Hit n miss. Awesome when they got it together. Not so much while trying to figure it out

Beatles. I never, ever had a shot at a Beatles concert. But from what I've learned with all the documentaries, their concerts were fairly terrible both for them as performers and for the audience. They had no monitors to speak of so they couldn't hear themselves and they were woefully underpowered for the venues they played. The screaming girls killed it all anyway so there was no real solution. Saw McCartney in the 90's. Fabulous show.

Loudest band? subjective for sure and probably venue specific as well. For me, AC/DC is hands down the loudest thing I've ever experienced. Even with hearing protection on you couldn't hear yourself think.

Deep Purple. totally off the charts awesomeness .

Aerosmith: same. Superb concert band. Say what you will about some of their stuff. Put them up on a stage and they can rock any house anytime. Joe Fu#@$%ing Perry on the axe is something to watch and hear.

Too many other great concerts to keep babbling. My first Santana concert was memorable in that the PA system went out right as they began. Dead PA. They played their entire set list with no vocals. Didn't make a big difference to me. Their was enough altered conciousness in the air to make up the difference.

Keep those memories coming. I've enjoyed them all

 

[Dean Kurtz]

First time I saw Santana was at Fullerton College gym. I think 1971. Carlos came out before the show and was talking to a few people in the crowd. We were there early. My friend said go talk to him. Nobody dared. We were not worthy. We put him way up there back then. I have met so many since. Funny looking back.

 

[Swerd]

The Beatles did not have good monitors and with all the girls screaming, could not hear.

At that time, no one had sound systems suitable for large indoor arenas or outdoor stadiums. The Beatles, who had performed live for years in smaller indoor places, realized how poor they sounded in the large venues. After their 1966 concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, they vowed to never play live in such locations again. That, of course, meant they wouldn't play live anywhere again.

Gradually, during the second half of the 60s and on into the 70s there was a lot of work done to make better sound systems, especially for outdoor performances. In particular, the Grateful Dead spent a lot of money to help develop this. Some of the notable people who took part in this were Dan Healy, John Meyer (of Meyer Sound), and Owsley Stanley (both a famous genius & an infamous nutjob). Without their efforts, good sound systems might still be no better than what the Beatles and others had in the mid 1960s.

 

[Dean Kurtz]

At that time, no one had sound systems suitable for large indoor arenas or outdoor stadiums. The Beatles, who had performed live for years in smaller indoor places, realized how poor they sounded in the large venues. After their 1966 concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, they vowed to never play live in such locations again. That, of course, meant they wouldn't play live anywhere again.

Gradually, during the second half of the 60s and on into the 70s there was a lot of work done to make better sound systems, especially for outdoor performances. In particular, the Grateful Dead spent a lot of money to help develop this. Some of the notable people who took part in this were Dan Healy, John Meyer (of Meyer Sound), and Owsley Stanley (both a famous genius & an infamous nutjob). Without their efforts, good sound systems might still be no better than what the Beatles and others had in the mid 1960s.

Well said.

 

[everettT]

At that time, no one had sound systems suitable for large indoor arenas or outdoor stadiums. The Beatles, who had performed live for years in smaller indoor places, realized how poor they sounded in the large venues. After their 1966 concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, they vowed to never play live in such locations again. That, of course, meant they wouldn't play live anywhere again.

Gradually, during the second half of the 60s and on into the 70s there was a lot of work done to make better sound systems, especially for outdoor performances. In particular, the Grateful Dead spent a lot of money to help develop this. Some of the notable people who took part in this were Dan Healy, John Meyer (of Meyer Sound), and Owsley Stanley (both a famous genius & an infamous nutjob). Without their efforts, good sound systems might still be no better than what the Beatles and others had in the mid 1960s.

That McIntosh setup for the dead was great and at the same time a nightmare to transport.

Bear was one unique individual. His determination to have the best sound vs the PAs at the time was cool and driven. I was fortunate enough to sample his other work, and whoa boy.

 

[mazersteven]

Loudest band? subjective for sure and probably venue specific as well. For me, AC/DC is hands down the loudest thing I've ever experienced. Even with hearing protection on you couldn't hear yourself think.

.

Aerosmith: same. Superb concert band. Say what you will about some of their stuff. Put them up on a stage and they can rock any house anytime. Joe Fu#@$%ing Perry on the axe is something to watch and hear.

AC/DC was Great. Angus Young made the Show. But definitely not the Loudest.
RUSH was Definitely Louder. Rock Your Face Off Loud!!!

Aerosmith one of my All Time Favorite Bands. Seen them so many times. The most Memorable was at a place called The Ritz in Lower Manhattan in the 80's. Standing at the Bar 20' from Tyler. It was Amazing what was Lined Up on the Bar, Co- Bathrooms. Fucking Awesome!!!

 

[chris357]

First show was in 84, Ozzy Bark at the moon tour with Motley Crue Shout at the Devil. It was a pretty good show. Is anyone on here still active in promoting tours or mixing sound for tours?

 

[Mark E. Long]

Seen Journey on the Infnty tour first with Steve Perry in the capital theatre in wheeling West Virginia man he had the pipes back then they could definitely jam they had a little known band open up for them AC/DC there first tour man they were loud as hell of course we all know where they went from there also had Bon Scott singing lead he was a showman for sure !

 

[STRONGBADF1]

The Cars, 1984, Heartbeat City Tour at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa

( My very first concert was John Denver at The Spectrum but my parents took us because they wanted to go...pretty sure that was in 1978)

 

[Dean Kurtz]

Seen Journey on the Infnty tour first with Steve Perry in the capital theatre in wheeling West Virginia man he had the pipes back then they could definitely jam they had a little known band open up for them AC/DC there first tour man they were loud as hell of course we all know where they went from there also had Bon Scott singing lead he was a showman for sure !

Saw Journey before Steve Perry. Gregg Rolie doing the vocals and keys. I dug AC/DC with Bon. Never saw them.

 

[Dean Kurtz]

The Cars, 1984, Heartbeat City Tour at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa

( My very first concert was John Denver at The Spectrum but my parents took us because they wanted to go...pretty sure that was in 1978)

Saw the Cars 3 times. Late 70's. Great band.

 

[Dean Kurtz]

Depends on what you consider a concert. My parents were in bands when I was growing up and every year we'd have a Woodstock style get together in my back yard (huge back yard). All of their musician friends, significant others, college buddies... it was a lot of people and a big deal for us. We'd build a stage out of cinder blocks and scrap lumber, had the equipment, lighting and everyone would take turns playing over the course of the weekend into the wee hours of the morning.

My first "real" concert was "Clash of the Titans" with Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Alice in Chains was the opening act!

We used to jam in my friends front yard when we're just starting playing. We called it Slumstock.

 

[ryanosaur]

Billy Joel, Nylon Curtain tour, 1982. (I woulds been 8, Dad took me.)
And again, we went to the Innocent Man tour in 1984.

 

[panteragstk]

This thread shows that a lot of us, if not most of us are into rock or what is now considered "classic" rock. Even the stuff I grew up with is old enough to be considered such.

My question is, how many of us still listen to this stuff on our systems regularly? I do every once in awhile (unless I'm doing stuff around the house, then almost exclusively).

"Critically" listening to some of my favorite albums makes me realize how bad some of the recordings/mixes are. Sometimes I'm surprised at how good some of them sound. Mixed bag, really.

 

[Dean Kurtz]

Billy Joel, Nylon Curtain tour, 1982. (I woulds been 8, Dad took me.)
And again, we went to the Innocent Man tour in 1984.

Cool dad.

 

[Pogre]

We used to jam in my friends front yard when we're just starting playing. We called it Slumstock.

Ours was the "Mahoning Valley Easter Festival". As far as I know they might even still be doing it in another location. After we moved from that house they started doing them at someone's hunting camp and I kept going for a while. Then I moved and life happened. It's been a long time.

 

[ryanosaur]

Cool dad.

They both did all right. Haven't been arrested... yet. Only divorced once. He took me to see R-rated movies as kid. (BTW, NEVER take a 6yr old to see FAME! SMDH)
After those 2 concerts was Huey Lewis and The News, Fore! tour in 87. Robert Cray Band opened. I hated Robert Cray until I saw that show.

 

[Dean Kurtz]

They both did all right. Haven't been arrested... yet. Only divorced once. He took me to see R-rated movies as kid. (BTW, NEVER take a 6yr old to see FAME! SMDH)
After those 2 concerts was Huey Lewis and The News, Fore! tour in 87. Robert Cray Band opened. I hated Robert Cray until I saw that show.

I heard Huey Lewis was a fun show. Never saw them, but met their drummer.

 

[ryanosaur]

I heard Huey Lewis was a fun show. Never saw them, but met their drummer.

Years later, I met the whole gang... they did the National Anthem at a Kansas City Chiefs game (vs the Steelers) and the MU Marching Band was there for the Half-Time show... Got to have a meet'n'greet and they signed our field passes.