June 19, 2008
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My first time...
I'm going to come clean here, because if I'm about anything, it's full
disclosure.
I want to talk about music.
Concerts in particular.
The very first concert I ever attended.
My very first concert was...uh...OK OK. Let's get this over with.
The first live show I ever attended was Glen Campbell. Yeah, you heard
me: Glen Campbell!G-L-E-N C-A-M-P-B-E-L-L.
[pause for derisive laughter]
Aw come on! We're talking 1969 and I was like 13-years-old. My sister
took me. It was the summer of Woodstock and the Man on the Moon and I
was sitting on a lawn chair at the Garden State Arts Center drinkin'
Pepsi Cola and tappin' my PF Flyers to the Wichita Lineman himself.
And guess what? I had a great time. This was before I had to pretend
to be cool. A couple years later, of course, I was in total denial:
"First concert? Tull at the Garden, man."
But here it is--2008--and I'm reassessing the situation. It is
actually kind of cool that Glen Campbell was my first because he was,
and still is, a great performer and an incredible guitarist. That is, when he's
not swerving in his SUV. I'll even get a little blasphemous
here and say that he can play rings around Jimmy Page because he can,
and Page knows it too. Campbell was the go-to-guy for recording
sessions in the '60s, playing on dates with Spector, Sinatra, and The
Beach Boys. Heck, when Brian Wilson flipped out, Campbell became a Beach Boy
and hit the road with them, just like that. Remarkable.
I have fond memories of that hot Jersey night in '69: There was a big
brassy orchestra behind him. He did a kick-ass guitar solo on George
Jones' White Lightnin.' He led the audience in a sing along: "OK! This
side: YA'LL COME! Now this side! YA'LL COME!" And--most memorable
of all--Glen Campbell had the most serious head of hair I ever laid
eyes on; there was a breeze, but it didn't budge. Some kind of
miracle, I tell you.
That night he performed Galveston and By the Time I Get to Phoenix and
Gentle On My Mind--sounding just like the records (I was the proud
owner of the Wichita Lineman 45). Admit it: Those were some of the
finest pop songs of the era.
So yeah, Glen Campbell was my first.
Oh, and you're still laughing? OK. So what was YOUR first concert? Anne Murray?
'FESS UP.
----Ed Kaz
Comments (47)
ok...you pulled my leg....
first Concert where there were seats and I watched an actual performance on stage?
Cleo Lane (jazz singer). My mom had two tickets and was going to go with my dad...but he had an emergency at work (ship lost a rudder).... I was surprised on how enjoyable the concert was.
first concert with a series of artists was with my brother....a group of punk bands in the 80's....one was Green Day (cause my brother knew one of the band members, we got some free tickets).
@edlives - Thanks for the memory. Very cool. But I think I twisted your arm, not pulled your leg.
Worse. Helen Reddy. I was in 7th grade, and thought "Delta Dawn" was the coolest song ever. That concert was followed by John Denver, in 8th grade. I didn't get cool until 1978 (10th grade) when I saw The Eagles. That's the "first" concert I tend to claim.
@Ed_Kaz - ah...so true...it was my son pulling my leg....and thanks for twisting my arm down memory lane.
@AmyinVA - Ah yes. Those were the days. Everything was soft and oh-so-mellow. I'll bet the Reddy concert was really great in retrospect.
Mine was The Levellers. Have horrible feeling that they were my most recent too, if we don't count gigs in pubs. ~x~
I don't know if I should admit this, but 'Rhinestone Cowboy' is on my cardio playlist. I love that song. So, I totally understand the whole Glen Campbell thing.
My first concert was Sting. For his Dream of the Blue Turtles album. I saw him at The Muny in St. Louis.
My first? The Jive Five. 1967, I think. And if that doesn't make me feel really old, you can see them now as old men playing on the Doo Wop specials on PBS. My first, when I want to sound cool? The Temptations (back when they really were the Temptations) at the Copacabana in New York in 1968, I think.
when I started reading this I was thinking HEY I LIKE Glen Cambell... He brings back memories of my Pop and getting up at three in the morning to head to the lake for a day of fishing... Pop would put in his tape and sing quietly while he sipped his coffee, I'd sit with my head against the window watching the morning star and thinking about what treats I could talk him into at the gas station.
Sorry... first concert...Was Heart, Micheal Bolton opened. It was a good concert, no one liked Micheal though... I didn't mind him, but everyone else was waiting for Heart.
@angi1972 - Wow. What a special memory that is. I can just imagine you at the gas station. "Daddy? Can I please have some Castrol Motor Oil?" "But you didn't finish your last can, dear."
@doahsdeer - That is really cool. Temptations AND the Copa. Wow. And the real Temps. Not the bass singer and a bunch of second-cousins.
@SaadiaOnline - Blue Turtles was a darn good album. I've never been a Sting fan, but I can appreciate his commitment to his art and to humanity in general. Of course, he's no Michael Bolton.
@pink_hebe - So it's full circle for you eh?
@Ed_Kaz - :-b
Hey... Gas stations were the only thing open and they carry all of the goodies to keep you set on a LONG drive... or in this case a long day on a boat... Pop/Soda and Candy bars galore... twinkies and salt and viniger chips... all of the things a growing girl should avoid like the plague.
First concert--I think it was Orleans. Ninth grade, maybe. No one remembers them now. But when I want to sound cool? My second concert was Boston a couple of years later. (We didn't git too many of them big-city radio bands up our way. We had to make a forty-mile drive through blizzards to git to the first stoplight.)
@Ed_Kaz - More like hopping on the spot.
@angi1972 - I had a Twinkie once, at the insistence of my American Friends. Never again.
why do you think we would laugh?a performer is a performer and nothing to be ashamed of.
I was living in southern Ca. and it was the 60's and there were alot of free concerts at Griffith Park so I can't count that or the free concerts on the Santa Monica pier. In Hermosa Beach I used to stand outside of the Lighthouse on the sidewalk and groove with the jazz bands (it actually sounded better out on the sidewalk.
Maybe Three Dog Night in Dallas? is that dorky enough?
@pink_hebe - I don't blame you... I was a very little kid... I wouldn't be eating one now... I have moved on to better things.
@pink_hebe - YOU are hanging out with the WRONG American friends. You should try a Yankee Doodle!
Raffi... The Baby Beluga Tour. I took some serous Flintsone vitamins before that show (a few too many pink Pebbles) and I don't know that they did to me, but I felt like I was there with Raffi, Down By The Bay, Where the Watermelon's Grow!!!
So trippy!!!
@BrysonMC - HA HA HA HA HA! Never trust a Flintstone in any way shape or form. They mistreat prehistoric animals! Prehistoric PETA better get after them! And how come Fred never has blisters on his feet...hmmm?
(I'm ignoring the fact that you mentioned Raffi)
@Ed_Kaz - Fine Kaz... the first real concert that was not Raffi was Jeff Healey... the one where I made an ass out of myself in front of the man himself. You may remember that story from a few months back.
Of course I did see Meatloaf and Richard Marx in the same week once. I was singing Right Here Waiting By The Dashboard Light for months after that!!!
they were some mighty fine songs...
Did he happen to play his bagpipes? Glen Campbell did indeed record some great pop tunes. Classic American country-pop music. He came to Enid a few years back, for the annual Christmas concert at the Expo Center. I, however, did not get to see him.
The first concert I ever attended was at a festival Enid used to host called Summerfest. It was held every summer, obviously, at the Woodring Municipal Airport, and in one of the hangar's, they had a steel drum band from the West Indies perform. I was about five or so at the time, so I don't remember what they played, but I sure liked that sound. That was my very first concert.
@BrysonMC - Ah yes. You told me that story because MY story is, of course, a summer rerun. But I went through and entire readership turnover and they didn't notice.
Meatloaf AND Richard Marx. Damn I'm jealous.
I saw Meatloaf in '77 BEFORE he broke...he was just on the edge...and man, was that a killer show.
@fingers83 - He plays BAGPIPES? Is there no end to the talent of Glen Campbell?
mine was The Cure...Sept of '96 I think? Frank Irwin Center...Austin, Texas...
sorry, Ed, that's just too damn funny...did he play Rhinestone Cowboy? LOL
and mine COULD have been potentially MORE damaging than yours....I almost went to see Dr.Hook in the 70s...lol
My first was Tina Turner. I think it was in the mid 80s when Mad Max movies were hot.
Glen Campbell is a noteworthy twelve string player as well, and therefore has my respect. No laughter will be coming from me, sir.
My first show? Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. I was 14.
Speaking of concerts, Ed, you might wanna get out here this weekend!
@kirby1960 - Orleans! "Still the One." One of the most over-played songs in the history of pop music. You mean they did other songs at the concert? Like what? I'd imagine a reggae version of "Still the One," a blues version, a metal version, a zither version...
@jacksbrokenheart - Ha ha! I think everyone should be excused for what concerts they went to in the '70s. I saw Leo Sayer and I actually liked it. Sadly(?) Mr. Campbell was still pre-Rhinestone. He was riding on his first wave of success. And he didn't do "I Knew Jesus Before He Was a Superstar." Darn. That's the best song ever.
@icepearlz - Oh yeah. Tina. I saw her in the '80s as well. Glenn Frey was the opener. He really sucked. She was good. I believe she did Bruce's Dancing in the Dark. But my memories of the '80s are (justifiably) dim...
Thanks for stopping by!
Kaz
@CzarnyEffingKruk - SEGER! Now that's a great way to be anointed into the world of concertdom!
Yeah? What's going on this weekend?
I can honestly say that my first REAL concert (I'm in band so I'm AT a lot of concerts) was Maynard Ferguson... to say the least, I was totally blown away. I was 15 at the time (2003 I believe) and was ushering for his concert at the theater at my school. I had no clue who he was but only the fact that he was an amazing trumpet player. I actually never even heard his playing until that night and, man... it really amazed me. Now he's one of my favorite Horn players, and I just about cried when he passed away 2 years ago. At least I can say that I met him and got to shake his hand. Play on up in that starry sky Maynard!
@Joeythatoneguy - Wow! Now that's a cool concert. That man could hit some high notes. You touched greatness. Thanks for sharing that story!
Glen Campbell kicks butt. Rhinestone Cowboy all the way.
First concert - Katrina and the Waves. Gulp.
jack wagner.
@noppstar - He was a Hunk-O-Matic!
@suponthegreat - You mean they had more songs other than Walking on Sunshine? Enough for an entire concert? When did they do the hit? Right at the beginning or did they make you salivate with anticipation and save it for the fourth encore?
@Ed_Kaz - Marshall Crenshaw with Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. Live. Free outdoor concert here in The Clem. Two nights. Beer. BBQ. Fireworks. Life is good.
@CzarnyEffingKruk - WOW. That's awesome. I'd love to be there for that. Sounds like a barn-burner. I interviewed Marshall a few years back. Check it out!
Oh, I've got you beat.
My first concert?
The Newsboys.
...yea.
I won't even tell you my second and third...
My first concert was Aerosmith. I went with my dad and it was the summer before I entered high school...5 years ago. (ok, so it may not have been that long ago....but I was almost 14..)
Cheap Trick opened and it was AWESOME. I was totally born in the wrong decade.
Gino Vanelli, cause my mean big sister wouldn't take me to Aerosmith. He was great, though.
My girlfriend talked me into seeing -I forget his name, plays a big white piano, sings Copa Cabana, really boring and I actually fell asleep.
Al Dimeola, David Bowie, Steely Dan, The Cult, and Audioslave all had great shows.
Springsteen.
How embarrassing.
If you must know...Strawberry Alarm Clock....My cousin Florida took me while I was visiting...I had no choice...
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