I love live music. I love watching people perform, sing, play instruments,
engage the crowd. Large arena's, stadiums, intimate venues, coffee shops, it
doesn't matter. I just love it. In fact, I believe that music performed live is
the way that music is meant to be heard.
So, it probably goes without saying that I have been to my fair share of concerts. I also have a "bucket-list" of people I want to see live, and on more than one occasion I have kicked myself in the ass for not going to see a performance when I had the chance.
When I was a teenager, the first concert that I went to see was KISS at the L.A. Forum in 1977. It was the Love Gun Tour and Cheap Trick opened up. It was an awesome show. All of the theatrics that KISS was known for; very over-the-top. I went with my friends, Sal & Sebastian. Their mom, Linda, drove us there and if I remember correctly, she even sat with them. I bought my tickets after Sal & Sebastian had bought theirs so we didn't sit together. We were almost exactly across the arena from each other, on the sides. I sat by my lonesome.
Many of the concerts that I have been to are festivals. One, two, even three-day events when you get to see a bunch of great bands play live. Again, as a teenager, I went to Cal-Jam II at the Ontario Motor Speedway in 1978 (Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Dave Mason, Foreigner, Heart, Santana), The California World Music Festival in 1979 at the L.A. Coliseum (Aerosmith, Van Halen, Eddie Money, Toto, UFO, Cheech & Chong, April Wine, Boomtown Rats), Oregon Jam I in 1982 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, (Foreigner, Loverboy, Joan Jett, & Blue Oyster Cult), and the US Festival in 1983 at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino in California. Unfortunately, we only went to the 2nd day of the US Festival. We had tickets for the 3rd day but never went back That day featured Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Triumph, Scorpions, and Van Halen . My US Festival experience might make for a good story someday too.
Anyway, 2 of the most memorable concert experiences that I have had involved my sister Susie. First, she took me to the Cal Jam II concert in '78. It was a truly remarkable moment in my life. Fans, including the two of us, showed up on site the night before to wait in line. That's what you do at concerts when it is “festival” seating and you race everyone to get as close to the front as possible. Rowdy fans decided that they had waited long enough and somewhere in the middle of the night they broke down the fence and stormed into the center of the racetrack and sprinted for the stage. I remember running with my sister, hurdling over abandoned sleeping bags and blankets, dodging discarded ice chests, food, beer and liquor bottles. I was 15 years old and just mesmerized by everything. Heck, this was our Woodstock.
The second time a concert experience involved Susie was actually the first time, if that makes sense. It was late 1977 and the rock band Queen was touring in support of their album, "News of the World." This was the album that had the mega-hit(s) "We Will Rock You/We are the Champions," and "Sheer Heart Attack." The band was on a sold-out tour of North America and their last show was going to be at the L.A. Forum on December 22,, 1977.
A friend of mine from high school named Kelly approached me at school a few days before the concert and told me that he had an extra ticket because somebody had backed out, and he said I could go if I wanted. Of course I wanted to go. This was going to be huge. In retrospect, historically, this would have been the perfect time to see Queen live. Wikipedia shows some stats about this tour and the setlist alone has 31 songs (26 to start, and 5 more over 2 encores). NOBODY plays 31 songs these days. NOBODY!!
Kelly said that I could have the ticket for free which was good because I didn't have any money. So, we set up a meeting point at the coffee shop across the street from the Forum. I think it was a Denny's. My sister drove me into Los Angeles and we pulled up to the Denny's. We waited there for a while as more and more people filed past on their way to the arena. It was getting closer and closer to the 8:00pm start of the show. And Queen was the type of band that didn't tour with an opening act. The conventional wisdom back then was that bands toured with an opening act to "warm-up" the crowd and get them ready for the headliner. Queen didn't need a warm-up band.
I told my sister to go ahead and drop me off and I would wait for Kelly to show up. She was reluctant to go, but I convinced her that I would be ok. she said that she would be back at about 11:30 Here's me, standing on the sidewalk next to the bus stop, next to Denny's waiting for a friend to show up with a ticket to see Queen. Minutes were racing by and my anxiety level was getting higher by the second. Then it started to drizzle rain, just lightly, not a heavy downpour, but enough to make my t-shirt start clinging to my skin. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I went across the street and headed over to the Forum, and went to the main entrance to see if Kelly was anywhere to be seen. The din of the crowd inside was starting to grow and the last of the stragglers were starting to rush inside to find their seats.
Then, without warning, the crowd let our this huge roar from inside the arena. It was starting. All of a sudden the bass drum resounded with that familiar two-beat kick-off to "We Will Rock You" and the crowd answered back in unison with single clap. This rhythm continued in a sequential pattern and the arena was literally rocking and I could feel the vibration outside. The rain started coming down a little harder now. Not much more, but it was noticeable.
"Kelly! Where are you?" I screamed inside my head, but no one answered.
I walked around the arena, hoping to see something or someone familiar but it never happened. By now the band was in their 3rd or 4th song and I was beginning to realize that it wasn't going to happen. I walked back to Denny's, looked around and didn't see anyone I knew. I waited for a while, pacing back and forth, cursing myself for telling my sister to go ahead and leave. I walked back to the arena and didn't see anyone there either. Now the security guards were starting to look at me funny, so I headed back to Denny's to wait it out for my sister to come and get me. I didn't have any money so I couldn't even go inside the Denny's to get something to eat or drink. So here's me, sitting on the bus stop bench for 2 1/2 hours watching busses come and go and never getting to see Queen.
My sister did show up. Right when she said she would be there. She was the only thing about that night that really came through for me. Later, after Christmas break was over and we were back in school, Kelly came up to me and said, "What happened?" I asked him the same thing. he said that he was there and that he waited, but when it started raining, he didn't want to wait in the rain anymore so he went inside Denny's and then when I didn't show up, he went to the arena. I never could tell if he was lying or not. I don't know if he would have done something like that, but it was possible.
A few years later, the band Foreigner came out with a song called Juke Box Hero, and to this day I cannot listen to that song without remembering that night.
"Standing in the Rain
With his head hung low
He couldn't get a ticket
It was a sold out show
Put his ear to the wall
and like a distant scream
he heard one guitar
just blew him away...."
Of course that’s where the parallel ends. I never bought a beat-up six string. I never really learned to play. I never did get to see Queen live. Of course, lead singer Freddie Mercury died several years ago from HIV/AIDS so seeing the "real" Queen will never happen. They have appeared with Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers a few times and I think they have even toured with George Michael. While it wouldn't be the same, given the chance I would probably go to see them anyway, even if it meant standing out in the rain. I think I'll make sure I buy my own ticket though.
So, it probably goes without saying that I have been to my fair share of concerts. I also have a "bucket-list" of people I want to see live, and on more than one occasion I have kicked myself in the ass for not going to see a performance when I had the chance.
When I was a teenager, the first concert that I went to see was KISS at the L.A. Forum in 1977. It was the Love Gun Tour and Cheap Trick opened up. It was an awesome show. All of the theatrics that KISS was known for; very over-the-top. I went with my friends, Sal & Sebastian. Their mom, Linda, drove us there and if I remember correctly, she even sat with them. I bought my tickets after Sal & Sebastian had bought theirs so we didn't sit together. We were almost exactly across the arena from each other, on the sides. I sat by my lonesome.
Many of the concerts that I have been to are festivals. One, two, even three-day events when you get to see a bunch of great bands play live. Again, as a teenager, I went to Cal-Jam II at the Ontario Motor Speedway in 1978 (Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Dave Mason, Foreigner, Heart, Santana), The California World Music Festival in 1979 at the L.A. Coliseum (Aerosmith, Van Halen, Eddie Money, Toto, UFO, Cheech & Chong, April Wine, Boomtown Rats), Oregon Jam I in 1982 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, (Foreigner, Loverboy, Joan Jett, & Blue Oyster Cult), and the US Festival in 1983 at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino in California. Unfortunately, we only went to the 2nd day of the US Festival. We had tickets for the 3rd day but never went back That day featured Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Triumph, Scorpions, and Van Halen . My US Festival experience might make for a good story someday too.
Anyway, 2 of the most memorable concert experiences that I have had involved my sister Susie. First, she took me to the Cal Jam II concert in '78. It was a truly remarkable moment in my life. Fans, including the two of us, showed up on site the night before to wait in line. That's what you do at concerts when it is “festival” seating and you race everyone to get as close to the front as possible. Rowdy fans decided that they had waited long enough and somewhere in the middle of the night they broke down the fence and stormed into the center of the racetrack and sprinted for the stage. I remember running with my sister, hurdling over abandoned sleeping bags and blankets, dodging discarded ice chests, food, beer and liquor bottles. I was 15 years old and just mesmerized by everything. Heck, this was our Woodstock.
The second time a concert experience involved Susie was actually the first time, if that makes sense. It was late 1977 and the rock band Queen was touring in support of their album, "News of the World." This was the album that had the mega-hit(s) "We Will Rock You/We are the Champions," and "Sheer Heart Attack." The band was on a sold-out tour of North America and their last show was going to be at the L.A. Forum on December 22,, 1977.
A friend of mine from high school named Kelly approached me at school a few days before the concert and told me that he had an extra ticket because somebody had backed out, and he said I could go if I wanted. Of course I wanted to go. This was going to be huge. In retrospect, historically, this would have been the perfect time to see Queen live. Wikipedia shows some stats about this tour and the setlist alone has 31 songs (26 to start, and 5 more over 2 encores). NOBODY plays 31 songs these days. NOBODY!!
Kelly said that I could have the ticket for free which was good because I didn't have any money. So, we set up a meeting point at the coffee shop across the street from the Forum. I think it was a Denny's. My sister drove me into Los Angeles and we pulled up to the Denny's. We waited there for a while as more and more people filed past on their way to the arena. It was getting closer and closer to the 8:00pm start of the show. And Queen was the type of band that didn't tour with an opening act. The conventional wisdom back then was that bands toured with an opening act to "warm-up" the crowd and get them ready for the headliner. Queen didn't need a warm-up band.
I told my sister to go ahead and drop me off and I would wait for Kelly to show up. She was reluctant to go, but I convinced her that I would be ok. she said that she would be back at about 11:30 Here's me, standing on the sidewalk next to the bus stop, next to Denny's waiting for a friend to show up with a ticket to see Queen. Minutes were racing by and my anxiety level was getting higher by the second. Then it started to drizzle rain, just lightly, not a heavy downpour, but enough to make my t-shirt start clinging to my skin. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I went across the street and headed over to the Forum, and went to the main entrance to see if Kelly was anywhere to be seen. The din of the crowd inside was starting to grow and the last of the stragglers were starting to rush inside to find their seats.
Then, without warning, the crowd let our this huge roar from inside the arena. It was starting. All of a sudden the bass drum resounded with that familiar two-beat kick-off to "We Will Rock You" and the crowd answered back in unison with single clap. This rhythm continued in a sequential pattern and the arena was literally rocking and I could feel the vibration outside. The rain started coming down a little harder now. Not much more, but it was noticeable.
"Kelly! Where are you?" I screamed inside my head, but no one answered.
I walked around the arena, hoping to see something or someone familiar but it never happened. By now the band was in their 3rd or 4th song and I was beginning to realize that it wasn't going to happen. I walked back to Denny's, looked around and didn't see anyone I knew. I waited for a while, pacing back and forth, cursing myself for telling my sister to go ahead and leave. I walked back to the arena and didn't see anyone there either. Now the security guards were starting to look at me funny, so I headed back to Denny's to wait it out for my sister to come and get me. I didn't have any money so I couldn't even go inside the Denny's to get something to eat or drink. So here's me, sitting on the bus stop bench for 2 1/2 hours watching busses come and go and never getting to see Queen.
My sister did show up. Right when she said she would be there. She was the only thing about that night that really came through for me. Later, after Christmas break was over and we were back in school, Kelly came up to me and said, "What happened?" I asked him the same thing. he said that he was there and that he waited, but when it started raining, he didn't want to wait in the rain anymore so he went inside Denny's and then when I didn't show up, he went to the arena. I never could tell if he was lying or not. I don't know if he would have done something like that, but it was possible.
A few years later, the band Foreigner came out with a song called Juke Box Hero, and to this day I cannot listen to that song without remembering that night.
"Standing in the Rain
With his head hung low
He couldn't get a ticket
It was a sold out show
Put his ear to the wall
and like a distant scream
he heard one guitar
just blew him away...."
Of course that’s where the parallel ends. I never bought a beat-up six string. I never really learned to play. I never did get to see Queen live. Of course, lead singer Freddie Mercury died several years ago from HIV/AIDS so seeing the "real" Queen will never happen. They have appeared with Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers a few times and I think they have even toured with George Michael. While it wouldn't be the same, given the chance I would probably go to see them anyway, even if it meant standing out in the rain. I think I'll make sure I buy my own ticket though.
