Michael Jackson-RFK Stadium-9/21/84
As Jimbromski and I were waxing nostalgic about Quiet Riot and the passing of frontman DuBrow, I starting thinking back to my first concert experiences. I believe that the first live pop/rock concert I ever attended was Michael Jackson on the Victory Tour. It was Sept 1984. I remember my dad coming home with 4 tickets to the sold out RFK show. I went with my folks and my 8 year old brother. Now my parents listen to Buffett and are self-proclaimed "Parrotheads", but thats another story, for another time. All I really remember (keep in mind I was 13 yrs old) is that it was quite the spectacle and I loved every minute of it. What was your first concert experience? Oh, and the Dismemberment Plan playing in your basement doesnt count.....
14 comments:
I saw U2 on the Joshua Tree back in 1987. It was at Silver Stadium in Rochester, NY. Little Steven was the first opener (he sucked) and then Los Lobos (they were great). My main memory was being shocked that so many people were smoking weed out in the open. I had never even seen it before.
I also saw the Dead Milkmen in 10th or 11th grade. My buddy and I snuck backstage and got to hang out with the guys for a while. It was a little sad to see the DM singer at the BC backstage a while back. He couldn't even remember the lyrics to his old songs. His new stuff was quite good though. I regret not buying his CD and telling him how much it meant when he talked w/ us for 30 minutes instead of just kicking us out. For a kid from a lame little town, that was a really cool experience.
Hmmm. Wouldn't you know it, my first real concert experience was also U2's Joshua Tree tour, fall 1987. I still have the concert T. I slept out for tickets with my older brother as people next to us on the sidewalk played U2 cassettes in their boom boxes, smoked, and drank. I was 14. After all that, our seats were still crap. Lone Justice opened for U2, also crap. But it was fantastic overall. Except for the part where Bono wanted everybody to sing along to "People Get Ready." No one knew the words. It was Connecticut. Nobody knows who the fuck Curtis Mayfield is in CT. He ended up teaching us the words. That Bono. What a guy.
First live concert: Donny and Marie. First stadium concert Amy Grant. First non-ridiculed by peers concert: INXS. I had already seen them, Richard Marx, Corey Hart, Expose, Billy Joel,AND REO Speedwagon before I saw the U2 Joshua Tree with everyone else.
Passed on the Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA concert. I had a ticket, but decided I didn't want to drive to Miami and stay up that late. I was 16.
Hmmmm. Reflecting on my comment, I have some insight into why I am totally lost in your blog.
Judas Priest, 1984, Capital Center. Defenders of the Faith tour. Giant monster head on the stage--Halford rode a Harley out of the mouth. I remember him saying that we in DC were crazy motherfuckers and that since we had applauded so long and hard that JP would certainly come back. Awesome show. Note that I missed "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" by only one year. I was 12 and a half.
Guess who the opening band was?
The one and only GREAT WHITE. Yeah!!!
On a side note, I agree w Slice, that Dead Milkmen guy solo show backstage at the Black Cat was strangely affecting.
I was also at the 1987 Joshua Tree concert (at RFK). We had Little Steven as our opener. I beleive he even played "Sun City" We stayed out all night in the Fair Oaks Mall parking lot to get tickets. I remember the next day my folks found a Moosehead (do they even make that beer anymore?)bottle cap in the backseat of my car. They assumed I had been drinking and driving, when in fact we had just been chilling in the parking lot. I thought they were going to take away my tickets for the show. Instead, I had no car privledges for a few weeks and I had to write an essay on the perils of drunk driving. Show was fantastic. Jimbromski, were you there? Probably not. Most likely he was at home moping and listening to "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" for the umpteenth time....
Also September 1984, but Rush at the Capital Centre, 3rd row (thanks, Dad). Rush was great, but the opening band was one of the worst: Helix. There was a little trampoline that the singer would do half somersaults off of - still makes me laugh.
9/7/84
Capital Centre
Super Zoe is a soft rock superstar. I dig.
Nobody puts on shows like they used to. Even if you're playing a small venue you can still jump around--on a small trampoline if need be--and act like a rock star.
Better yet, don't be afraid to deploy the pyro. Oh wait...Great White...never mind.
Wait, I just looked up Helix on allmusic. I remember their hit--"Rock You".
Gimme an R (R!), O (O!), C (C!), K (K!), and what's that spell (Rock!), and what're we gonna do (Rock You!)
Terrible song. Also they're from Ontario so it figures that Geddy Lee wouldn't go anywhere w/o a posse of Canucks at his side.
Also their allmusic bio says they've had like 50 dudes in the bad over the years, plus they're still together and rockin'.
If you saw them in '84 it must have been the "Walkin' The Razor's Edge" tour.
Devo on their New Traditionalists tour, Cullen Auditorium, University of Houston, 1982. Most interesting concert experience is probably a tie between (a) Black Flag at Club International, September 19, 1985, sitting so close that I was getting the occasional saliva spray from a very angry Henry Rollins, and (b) getting kicked out of a Motley Crue/Whitesnake concert at the Summit, summer 1987. Good times, good times.
SZ spent her formative years in South Florida, which probably goes a long way to explain her taste in music.
"(b) getting kicked out of a Motley Crue/Whitesnake concert at the Summit, summer 1987."
Okay, you can't just throw that out there and not provide detail. God only knows what a person has to do to get chucked from that show.
I honestly don't recall what prompted us getting the boot. And quite frankly neither does my cohort, some 20 years later. We're fairly certain it had something to do with being in the wrong seats, and vociferously objecting to being moved. I wish there was a more exciting story. I DO recall having left a note before the show for two girls that parked next to us and got out of their car while we finished our eleventeenth beer. The note started "Hey Metalchicks" and proceeded on with something like "be ready to party after the show." Sure enough, after the smoke cleared and we "walked" back to the car, the Metalchicks were there waiting for us. They balked at the suggestion of switching passengers, but invited us to follow them to God knows where. Upon leaving the parking garage my buddy proceeded to run over a curb and immediately lose sight of the Metalchicks. Somehow we made it back to suburbia without getting arrested, killed or both. All in all, a successful evening.
Apparently we all saw U2 on their "Joshua Tree" tour. I saw them and Pink Floyd on their "Momentary Lapse of Reason" tour during the same week in Austin. That was above average.
My first show: Metallica on the Speed of Sound Tour. Bunch of assholes.
--Mark Chilopek
Hey Chilopek, are you wearing Umbro shorts and pink polo shirt right now, despite the 40 degree temps? If so, my hat's off to you.
If not you are a filthy Chilopek impostor, which I already suspect you are, because you spelled the man's name wrong, and also b/c everyone knows Chilopek was a Garth Brooks fan.
cold busted
Cold busted indeed, rock 'n' roll sleuth. As a high-powered attorney (no really, he--I mean ME--is) I (Mark Chilopek, that is) has to keep a low profile online. Just Google the real Chilopek and be amazed at where your old roomie ended up.
There is no way anyone in the world cares about this stupid comment, eh Jimmy?
Sincerely,
Lawyer Mark Chilopek, Esq.
Attorney-at-Law
PLC
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