Friday, May 12, 2006

It's Got a Good Beat but You Can't Dance To It

They say you can tell a lot about a person by the kind of music they like. I’m not sure who “they” are, but it’s best not to argue semantics with these kinds of sweeping generalizations. Because it would ruin my whole point here. So I thought it might be fun to list every single concert I’ve ever attended. Some of these pained me deeply to admit, but in the spirit of complete disclosure, I thought you should know what kind of geek you’re dealing with.

Let’s begin with the bands I’ve seen at county fairs and the like.

In the beginning, there was Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. The year was 1986. I wore a blue and white striped sleeveless sweater and acid-washed jeans that I had strategically ripped until they fluttered in a slight breeze. I went with my neighbor Sara and her boyfriend. He blasted Appetite for Destruction in his Camaro the entire way to the fairgrounds. The whole experience made me yearn for adulthood so badly I felt lightheaded.

I soon moved on to .38 Special. I’d never seen so many mullets and missing front teeth in my life.

And then came, naturally, county fair staple REO Speedwagon. Twice! For two times the mediocrity!

I had my very first “big concert” experience in 1990: Kiss, Slaughter, & Winger. We arrived late, but not too late for me to purchase an unofficial Slaughter t-shirt from the leg of some lady’s pants. It seemed perfectly natural to me at the time to buy clothing that another woman had stuffed down her pants. I guess Budweiser does that to you.

Tom Cochrane & Red Rider. Remember the “Life is a Highway” guy? That was him. Red Rider also did “Lunatic Fringe.” And let me tell you. Two hours is a long time to wait on wooden bleachers at a county fair grandstand until the band plays the two songs you know.

Eddie Money. God it hurt me to type that.

The Gufs. Oh, so handsome, young, and earnest. Oh so heartbreaking to run into my latest ex-boyfriend in the crowd as they played “Smile.”

Stone Temple Pilots. I think I saw them at Summerfest when I was in college. I say “think,” because those years are kind of hazy.

Green Day. I wore an olive t-shirt and hideous jean shorts with built-in suspenders. This was when "Long View" was popular, years before American Idiot. Which I was at the time for wearing pseudo-lederhosen to a concert.

Horde Fest 1997. Lineup: Beck (during the “Two turntables and a microphone” era), Primus, and … grandfather of grunge, Neil Young. From the sixth row, people. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. In the words of Ed Sullivan, they put on a very good shew.

Jimmy Buffett. As I’m not a Parrot Head, I went because someone gave us some free tickets. I spent the first half hour of the show angry at my boyfriend for being stoned, so my best friend and I wandered around flirting with boys the rest of the night.

Pearl Jam. Another excellent show. Key memory: some drunk guy stuck in a tree on the hill behind us.

Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl did this hilarious stompy-thing with his skinny right leg while he sang & played guitar. From our vantage point in the nosebleed section, the exaggerated stomping made him look like a puppet made of pipe-cleaners. As a result, my friend Wendy and I laughed through his entire performance.

Ozzfest 2003. Lineup: Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera, Disturbed, and Godsmack (among others). When Godsmack took the stage a girl behind us said, “Ewww! This is music for thirty year old men!” Plus, there was a guy in front of us wearing frayed jean shorts, doing the stompy thing with his left foot during their entire set. So this ended up being another concert I laughed my way through.

Deftones. After their show I almost needed a Beltone.

Fear Factory. Reading this, you’d never guess that not only did I sit through The Notebook but I actually cried at the end. In all honesty, this one was for J. Because sometimes you have to take one for the team. The team being your, you know … marriage.

Uncle Tupelo. I’m getting older now. Can you tell?

Radiohead. Oh in the name of all that is sweet, holy, and delicious was this a fantastic show. I want them to come back to the land of beer, brats, and cheese so badly even my toes hurt. I feel like Rose floating on the door in the North Atlantic after the Titanic sank, crying out hoarsely to Radiohead: “Come back! Come back!”

Wilco. During their show Jeff Tweedy’s kids wandered around the audience with their nanny. They appeared to be between the ages of 3 and 6 and wore oversized earphones to protect their hearing. Adorable. Jeff Tweedy sang a beautiful song about his wife and afterwards he laughed a little and said, “Wow. I just totally blew a booger onto the microphone.”

I’ve probably forgotten a few, but this paints a graphic enough picture, I think. As I've gotten older my tastes in music have changed. Now, these bands on the upcoming Summerfest lineup have piqued my interest: My Morning Jacket, Keane, Andrew Bird, Panic! At the Disco, Guster, Aqualung, Yellowcard. And I am trying to organize a trip to Chicago this August for Lollapalooza.

So. Now it’s YOUR turn. Please, please, pretty please with Splenda on top tell me your concert list. That would make me the happiest girl in the world wide web.

57 comments:

  1. Holy Shipes! THis is a humongously long post I am not able to read/concentrate on right now. However, I did TAG good old Larry Resnick, God rest his good, kidney-free soul. Check it out over at Manic's.

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  2. Anonymous8:04 PM

    OMG. Mine is SOOOOOOO pathetic. Other than wayyyy too many orchestra/violin/classical music concerts...

    1) Sting with Lyle Lovett (opening) (first concert)
    2) Lilith Fair #1 (AWESOME)
    3) Y-100 (Philly Radio Station) tour thing (a bunch of decent bands - mainly Greed Day, Cheap Trick (heh)...
    4) Horde (Neil Young headliner, yeah)
    5) Neil Young at Madison Square Garden
    6) Dave Matthews Band
    7) Coldplay - AMAZING CONCERT

    If I think of any more...

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  3. Anonymous8:05 PM

    PS - I think I saw Horde in 97 as well. I love me some BECK.

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  4. This is painful.

    Wham!
    Debbie Gibson
    The Jets
    Taylor Dane
    MC Hammer
    Vanilla Ice
    Michael Bolton
    LL Cool J
    Beck
    Fugees
    Wu Tang Clan
    Black Eyed Peas

    I understand if you never want to see me again.

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  5. Anonymous9:25 PM

    Mine ranges from Power Station (I had a THING for John Taylor who alas failed to recognize my high school beauty) to OMD, more recently Pink and Lenny Kravitz

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  6. I am so glad I asked this. I am still laughing. Keep 'em coming, folks!

    Manic, I am also glad you tagged Larry! I'll have him hop to it over the weekend. But he's kind of a lazy bastard, so ...

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  7. Anonymous10:43 PM

    hehe well well here we go!
    (Keep in mind I am Canadian so some are pretty obscure!)

    Great Big Sea - college pub
    Sarah McLachlan - in a small pub in Banff
    Tragically Hip! - Roadside Attraction (very small version of a big show!)
    Alanis Morriset - it was the 90's!
    Sheryl Crow - Before marrying a biker
    Rolling Stones - With my Dad who passed me a doobey! I almost died!
    Kid Rock - In Detroit Baby!

    I am a dork! But I love it!

    Cools list by everyone! Great idea to ask!!!

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  8. Oh boy. All right, look, I used to have a crush on Mark McGrath. Is that so wrong? (Yes, it is wrong. Very wrong.) But I still saw Sugar Ray in concert, like, three times and screamed myself hoarse yelling things like, "Mark, I want to have your babies!" as I snuck up to the front row (which I did successfully all three times). It was a long time ago, OK? Like, at least eight years. HA HA.

    Umm, who else. Counting Crows. Enrique Iglesias. (He was at one of the Sugar Ray things!! Ditto for Melissa Etheridge. It was the most random concert ever.) Switchfoot (won radio station tickets). Fall Out Boy. All-American Rejects.

    I'm blocking out the rest. Sugar Ray was bad enough. We don't need to talk about the Backstreet Boys, do we?

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  9. Well...I think my ultimate dream concert list would look something like this:
    Billy Joel
    Jon Bon Jovi
    Norah Jones
    Springsteen
    John Mayer
    Dave Mathews Band (already seen them)
    and probably a lot more that I can't think of right now...wow...I guess Jovi and Norah Jones are quite different, eh?

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  10. OK, you asked for it:
    1) Chicago - It was the 70s and they played at the Chicago Stadium. Much of my hearing was left there. My first scent of marijuana
    2) Bruce Springsteen - At the venue formerly known as The Horizon. Great show.
    3) Talking Heads - Early 80s at that gigantic venue near Barrington, IL. Still the best concert I've ever seen.
    4) John Prine - At U of I - Chicago. Great concert.
    5) The Eagles - Alpine Valley - The FIRST time they reunited. Splendid show.
    6) Sevendust and Mushroomhead - At Summerfest. My friend and I took my high school son and friends before they could drive. I loved it, especially Mushroomhead.
    7) Nickelback - At the Rave. I won tickets on the radio, thinking I could take my son, but you had to be 21, so I took that same friend. I left much of my hearing there.
    8) Cardboard Vampyres and Beatallica - Last summer at the Rock Stage at Summerfest. Great concerts.

    There are MANY, MANY more. I love music, especially hard rock!

    I'll just never grow up. I wouldn't be caught dead at a Dave Matthews or Barenaked Ladies' concert unless all of their songs stop sounding the same. But that's just me.

    Oh and brush with greatness: I know the brother of the drummer in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Not bad for a housewife, huh?!

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  11. My first? The Bangles with the Hoodoo Gurus in a little bar outside of Albany NY. I love Hoodoo Gurus and will fight anyone who disses them. Also
    The Alarm ( who I wanted to see ) opened for Pat Benetar ( who I left when taking the stage). Black Flag, Jonathan Richman sans Modern Lovers. The Bodeans, Lone Justice opening for U2 in 86. Alot of James Taylor, cause my parents are hippies. Acoustic Elvis Costello during Spike (heaven)- Billy Bragg and Michelle Shocked ( I would still run away and Marry Billy if he asked nicely), Diana Krall, and I am sure there are those forgotten long ago.

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  12. I won't give you a list, but I'll tell you my favorite. Billy Joel. he was incredible.Unbelievable energy. He even danced on top of the piano.

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  13. Anonymous10:05 AM

    Oh, this was an idea I tabled- thank you for reminding me.

    My first concert was REM (1989) I didn't have a license and didn't know anyone who liked them so I took my Dad. Indigo Girls opened for them and he like them. HE bought me my first, ridiculously oversized (XXL) t-shirt which I wore all the time (even tho I was about 5'7" and 118 lbs.)

    Tom Petty & HBs (agree - great show)
    Eric Clapton (lenny Kravitz opened I think)
    REM
    Sting
    John Cougar Mellancamp
    Live (twice)(Radiohead opened)
    Indigo Girls
    Debbie Gibson
    Dave Matthews
    Lillith Fair (Sarah McLaughlin & Co.)
    U2 (2)
    Guster (met/hung out with the band after)
    Hoobastank
    Barenakes Ladies
    John Mayer (2) Maroon 5 opened 2nd time

    I'm sure there's a few missing too.

    Yeah, so "which one of these is not like the other?" I had to chaperone a bunch of 12 year old girls at Debbie Gibson at an amusement park when I was 17. The kicker? People at the amusement park thought I was her.

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  14. Wow..love your concert list. I heven't been to one in years! My first concert? KISS...I was probably about 12 and my Dad took us...first time I smelled pot, and I had No idea what it was!
    Other concerts; Journey, Elton John(free tix), Def leppard, Steve Winwood, hmmm...so many.

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  15. Anonymous1:50 PM

    Jesus, Jess you're never going to speak to me again:

    1) Bon Jovi, April 1989
    2) NKOTB, January 1990
    3) NKOTB, June 1990
    4) NKOTB, November 1990
    ^^i want. to die.

    Now it's not gonna be chronological, I just don't have the memory for it.
    5) Billy Joel
    6) Bette Midler 2x
    7) Billy Joel/Elton John
    8) Boyz II Men 2x
    9) Janet Jackson 2x
    10) Depeche Mode, 6th row, best concert ever, Violator tour
    11) Kenny G (shut. up.)
    12) Dave Koz 2x
    13) Chris Botti
    14) John Mayer 2x
    15) Maroon 5 opened for John once
    16) The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
    17) Dokken came to our bowling alley 3 years ago heh.
    18) Richard Marx @ county fair
    19) REO Speedwagon @ same

    If I think of any more I'll let ya know. If you're still speaking to me. *hangs head in shame*

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  16. Okay, here's me... first of all, here are the ones you and I have in common:

    Would have seen Kiss in like fifth grade (my MOM got us tickets and was going to take us) but Chris whatever his name is, the drummer, broke his hand and the concert was canceled. At least that's what my mom told us. Maybe she realized what a buncha freaks they were. But, Beth, I hear you calling...

    Saw Primus in a small little Chicago venue, who opened for Spyz24-7 or something like that. I stagedove at this concert, and afterward, I saw Les Claypool (that's the lead singer's name right) and I went right up to him and told him how great he was. Then, I went into the disgusting stall they call a bathroom and puked my guts out. After that, we ate Subway.

    Saw Jimmy Buffet at an outdoor venue summer of '93. This event followed an afternoon wedding. Highlights--husband getting tackled by a security guard for climbing up a hill to take a pee; me peeing in the men's room where I couldn't believe men were peeing in garbage cans and sinks... no wonder there's never a line!; and the evening ended with a raucous (spelling) round of Cock Wars, which I cannot divulge further, but let's just say by husband won.

    Saw Pearl Jam open up for Smashing Pumpkins who opened up for Red Hot Chili Peppers at a ballroom at Northern Illinois U. This was when, seriously NO ONE knew who Pearl Jam was, no one even knew there was an opening act to the opening act. The then drummer was in the audience after their performance and I went up and talked to him. The next day, I went out and got the cassette, 10. I'm so old they didn't even have CDs invented yet.

    I've seen the first Lallapalooza ever, Barry Manilow in concert twice, Peter Gabriel which amazed me cuz it actually started raining during Red Rain (saw him again a few years ago--man, he's looking like a grandpa!), Poi Dog Pondering about 12 times, Madonna in her Like A Virgin tour, Loverboy, the Hooters, the OUTFIELD which ROCKED--STILL love that band.... hmmm. this is a good exercise in memory... OKay, my brain hurts. I know there are more but I can't remember. I'll be back though, Jess, when I think of the rest.

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  17. Okay, had to consult the man, and also found more I saw by reviewing the comments here. Here are more --this is great!

    Dave Matthews-three times

    Wham (Twice!) Thanks for reminding me Lena, and BTW, I now have my kids listening to "Wham! Bam! I am the Man!" and "Bad Boys! Stick together, never sad boys!"

    Boston, where I really did fall asleep at the wheel on the way home from Alpine Valley. This was a night my life flashed before my eyes.

    Genesis, went with the ex boyfriend after we had already broken up. Sucked. Not the concert but the sitch.

    Bodeans

    Jellyfish

    Steve Miller, at Summerfest, where two weeks later both my big toenails completely fell off... not sure how that happened!

    Jane's Addiction

    Funk House

    Fishbone

    Oh, and lastly, The Wiggles!
    (not really)

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  18. You've seen some great bands!

    Hmmm...okay. Lemmie think. I've seen:

    Rancid (which sucked; they only played for 30 minutes and didn't come back for an encore)

    Pavement

    Beck

    54/40

    Tom Cochrane

    Counting Crows

    Nine Inch Nails

    David Bowie

    Melissa Ethridge, twice (and she rocked the hizzouse both times)

    Ani DiFranco a zillion and a half times

    Underworld

    The Herbaliser

    Beastie Boys

    The Jason Bonham Band (quite arguably the best show I've ever seen)

    Poison, Warrant, Cheap Trick and Quiet Riot (it was the Grand Slam Metal Jam, baby)

    Slipknot

    Social Distortion, twice

    Garbage

    The Cramps

    Rollins Band

    Rage Against the Machine (I met the band, too!)

    A bunch of local bands, and probably a whole ton more that I can't remember right now.

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  19. Anonymous7:51 PM

    I'm blanking out on this one. So far, these are what I can remember:
    Scandal (Patty Smyth) and Hall & Oates
    First big concert. With my parents. I wanted to see Scandal, they wanted to see H&O. I loved that "Goodbye To You" video.

    Duran Duran's "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" Tour. (10th grade. First unchaperoned concert.)

    Richard Marx (I was in college. It was peer pressure.)

    Janet Jackson (1990 "Rhythm Nation" tour)

    Harry Connick, Jr. (He was young and yummy.)

    Indigo Girls

    Emmy-Lou Harris

    Bonnie Raitt (1994)

    Donny Osmond (Seriously.)

    Lyle Lovett

    Paul McCartney ("Driving Rain" Tour, 2002)

    Leon Russell (2005)

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  20. Anonymous7:56 PM

    Just remembered. . .(Dare I admit?) In the late 90s, I also saw Barry Williams (Greg Brady) and Davy Jones (The Monkees) in concert. They weren't in the same show, either.

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  21. You're SO jealous of me right now...my husband interviewed Eddie Money a few months ago. EDDIE MONEY.

    :) Sorry, you can't be me.

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  22. I saw a bazillion concerts in the 80's and kept all the ticket stubs so I could remember... Then I attended a couple of Dead concerts and everything is now hazy. I know I saw a gajillion more after that, but I can't quite remember who and in what order. So I'll ramble off a few in no particular order (just so you won't feel bad about 38 Special and Slaughter!)

    Steppenwolf and the Guess Who
    Chicago
    Journey
    Def Leppard (twice)
    Great White
    Queensryche
    Tesla
    Metallica
    Elton John
    Boston
    Bon Jovi
    Michael Bolton (did I bury this one deep enough)
    Live
    Damn Yankees
    The Lillith Fair (featuring Chrissy Hyndes)
    The Dead
    Dave Matthews Band (one hundred thousand times)
    Smashing Pumpkins
    Stone Temple Pilots $ Flaming Lips & Butthole Surfers
    Chris Isaak
    Ani Difranco


    Oh, I know there's loads more. I should have stayed away from those funky brownies and those nitrous balloons!

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  23. Oh boy...I'm going to date myself with this list.

    First concert ever: Billy Idol
    I don't remember the order, but in high school I saw, Sting, Prince, Psychedlic Furs, Violent Femmes, Huey Lewis and DURAN DURAN during The Seven and the Ragged Tiger Tour. I've still got the Duran Duran and Sting tour book. The Sting concert was the "Dream of the Blue Turtles Tour." I SOOOOOO wanted to go see Michael Jackson during the Thriller tour, but it was in Chicago, and my mom wouldn't let me go on the bus with a friend. Go figure.

    Young adult, saw Love and Rockets, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, and Billy Joel with Elton John which is still far and away the best concert I have EVER seen,.

    Just recently I saw Duran Duran and I swear I felt like I was 16 again. I could hardly breathe I was so excited. What a tool.

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  24. The exciting thing about this list is that nearly all the music I listened to as both a kid and an adult is finally cool again.

    1) First musical experience ever: The Beatles debut on the Ed Sullivan show. It was a national moment.
    2) First concert ever: The Who. I was an innocent 15-year old and it was quite an introduction
    3) Chicago - with the cutest guy in H.S., Terry Hedger (sigh)
    4) Bread
    5) The Bee Gees
    6) Moody Blues
    7) Fleetwood Mac
    8) Jethro Tull (twice)
    9) Earl Clugh - ok, it wasn't really a concert. He used to play sometimes on Sunday nights in a small bar in Michigan where I worked. Very intimate venue. Very cool to have been there!
    10) Bob Seger - in his home town, Ann Arbor, MI. People are still talking about that show.
    11) There's a foggy period in the early '80s when I went to art school in NYC. Something about black lipstick and a smoky bar called CBGBs.
    12) Pink Floyd
    13) Grateful Dead - heartbreaking because it was the only time I ever had my wallet stolen at a concert.
    14) Uriah Heep
    15) Bob Dylan with Tom Petty and the HBs (WOW and WOW!)
    16) George Thorogood - wish you all could have heard him
    17) George Winston
    18) Michael Hedges
    19) Kenny G. - don't forgive me, i should have known better
    20) The Pointer Sisters
    21) Neil Young - he was sooooo good!
    22) Miles Davis - indescribable!
    23) Jimmy Buffett
    24) Queen
    25) James Taylor - in a state fair coliseum that was only about 1/3 full. It didn't matter, Sweet Baby James kept the whole crowd on our feet from the first song to the end plus three standing ovations.
    26) The Rolling Stones - at Sun Devil stadium
    27) U-2 (twice)
    28) Throwing Copper - those guys were amazing! Does anyone know what happened to them?
    29) And last, but hardly least, the most recent concert I went to: KISS - they're every bit as weird as you'd imagine...plus some.

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  25. And now, with that little intro about the Beatles, you can all feel assured that you don't have to worry much about dating yourselves! ;-)

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  26. Anonymous10:49 PM

    I haven't seen many concerts, so this is going to be one lame list.

    Bryan Adams (1985, high school jr)
    Power Station (ditto)
    Sting (1986)
    The Monkees (with my dad when the show was on MTV)
    Metallica and some other bands (1990?)
    Hootie and the Blowfish (before they were famous at a club in Chapel Hill)
    Smashing Pumpkins, Screaming Trees, some other band??
    ???

    My brother, unlike me, is a concert fanatic and goes all the time. I guess I am just too much of a homebody, too lazy.

    It just occurred to me that people's responses on this post would be excellent blackmail material.

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  27. Anonymous8:10 AM

    This will date me a little bit:
    Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin,
    Cream
    The Doors
    Chicago and the Beach Boys at Midway Stadium in St. Paul
    America and The Moody Blues at Red Rocks Canyon in Colorado
    Spirit
    Lead Zeppelin
    Simon & Garfunkel
    Bonnie Rait (when she was doing the Mpls coffee houses with Dave Ray and Spider John Koerner
    Bob Dylan when he was hanging out in the Dinkytown area near the U 0f M in the 60's (adjacent to my high school)
    Now I wonder why my hearing is shot

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  28. Anonymous10:20 AM

    First, EDDIE MONEY! SWEET!

    This is hard because I never went to any concerts in HS, which is when I was listening to slightly more embarassing stuff. I spent my college years obsessed by music, so this is by no means a complete list. I just happened to have all of the tickets stubbs below saved in a box. Because I'm lame like that.

    U2
    The Spindoctors (Oh, the humanity)
    Lollapalooza (like, all of them, in the nineties)
    Various other outdoor festivals
    Matthew Sweet (a lot)
    Tori Amos
    Tom Waits
    10,000 Maniacs
    Liz Phair
    The Lemonheads
    Ani DiFranco
    Afghan Whigs
    REM
    Guster

    I probably haven't been to a live show in a couple of years. I really need to get out more . . .

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  29. Okaay. You asked. But not in order b/c that would require too much thought.


    Prince
    Crosby Stills and Nash
    Neil Young
    Billy Joel
    Thomas Dolby
    The Clash
    Warren Zevon (twice)
    Eagles
    Bonnie Raitt
    Jimmy Buffett (many)
    Greatful Dead (twice)
    lots of World Beat concerts
    Jimmy Cliff
    Robert Cray
    Bruce Springsteen
    Rick Springfield
    Spin Doctors
    Wow a lot more too. I'll have to do my own little post someday where I can more easily edit and not eat up all your comment space.

    Thanks for the memories!

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  30. This is only somewhat chronological and nowhere near complete, but:

    HIGHSCHOOL:
    Siouxie and the Banshees, first concert, 83
    Howard Jones
    Crosby Stills and Nash
    Sting
    Tangerine Dream
    Bruce Springstein
    The Amnesty Concert- u2, police, peter gabriel, santana, howard jones, brian adams, etc.
    The Cure /10,000 maniacs

    COLLEGE:
    Echo and the Bunnymen/New Order/Gene Loves Jezebel
    Red Hot Chili Peppers (twice)
    Prince
    INXS/PIL
    Psychedelic Furs
    Ramones
    David Byrne
    Grateful Dead (hated it)
    Countless shows in smaller venues due to the drummer boyfriend: the godfathers, hothouse flowers, lena lovitch, urban blight, til tuesday, lemonheads, the pixies, mighty bosstones, etc.

    POST COLLEGE
    Sting (again)
    David Bowie
    Eric Clapton
    Counting Crows/Cracker
    They Might be Giants (x3)
    Sara McLaughlin
    Madonna
    Steve Malkmus
    Billy Joel/Elton John
    big benefit thingie in the Hamptons with paul simon, james taylor and I don't remember I was really stoned but I did sit next to Chevy Chase who was a dick.
    Something big in central park. Paul simon maybe?
    a couple lolapaloozas

    and just last Halloween...Foreigner!

    Funny how your tastes got better while mine seemed to get worse. Sad.

    Great post, Jess! Love all the answers.

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  31. I have a concert list tha would make Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms blanch with disgust.

    It goes like this - Grateful Dead, Greateful Dead, Grateful Dead. blah blah blah, Steve Winwood, Sting, Rory Block, Bob Dylan.

    Then I kill myself, even though DMB
    is coming through and I have enjoyed many fine musical acts at small-town square conerts, I feel it's just not enough to save myself.

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  32. Annd, even though DMB is coming through and I should cash in a cupla old school tix by asking Butch (with whom I went to college and for whose first group I groupied) for free passes I'm just not that confident....think I should? Anyone? Are they worth it?

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  33. I will just tell you this, my first concert was Blue Oyster Cult. How sad is that. Sad and disturbing and sweet all at the same time. I didn't even really know their music except of course GODZILLA. And there was a huge Godzilla floating across the stage. I have also seen Adam and the Ants, Loverboy, Madonna, Elton John, and only a few years ago I went to see the Doobie Brothers because Michael McDonald was singing with them. I'm a closeted Michael McDonald fan and a very closeted Kenny Loggins fan even though he's a cheese monkey and left his wife for his masseuse.

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  34. Stefanie, I have two words for you: More cowbell. But I digress. I haven't seen very many. Here goes: John Cougar Mellencamp (twice), whitney Houston (I know! The "I Wanna Dance with Somebody!" tour), The Cure (twice), Jimmy Buffett (more times than I can remember. Twice, I think?), The Beach Boys, The Spin Doctors, Squeeze, Ten Thousand Maniacs, and many more at random summer "Rib Burn-off" events I can't remember. . . see, I said not very many. But the really funny thing? When I was 16, I was dying to see Billy Joel in concert and my mom said No. Way. Too dangerous! And my brother went to Lollapalooza every year from the time he was 16! Stupid birth order.

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  35. Oh - I forgot. My first concert EVER (in the first grade) was the Osmond family. I was so excited, I think I counted down the days. And I did see Matchbox 20 about 4 years ago, which is when I realized I'm probably too old for concerts. Sad, but true. There were a bunch of those crazy college kids in front of us and one of them passed out around the first song. I kept staring at her thinking, "please don't puke, please don't puke" and didn't really pay very much attention to the band.

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  36. Oh Jeez...you know, I'll have to set this aside for a more thorough rambling on my own blog, but a sampling which demonstrate the breadth and depth of my shameful youth include

    Cheap Trick
    Rush
    Yes...twice
    Grateful Dead...13 times...I think.
    Stray Cats
    Motorhead
    Ramones
    The Cramps
    Police
    The Who
    The Clash

    oh god...I am so old...

    Joan Jett
    The Pretenders
    Simple Minds

    I need to stop now. My dentures need taking out.

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  37. Anonymous2:43 AM

    Okay, my list is rather long - one of my first jobs was in advertising for a concert promoter and had an all access pass for all their venues (a sore spot with my husband. He's getting tired of mentioning a band and then hearing me say, "Oh - I saw them! And stole food from their buffet!)

    (these are some that come to mind, in no particular order)

    Marvin Gaye (one of his last concerts before he died.)
    Elton John
    Sting
    Rolling Stones (2x)
    Pretenders
    Kool and the Gang
    Mary J. Blige
    Police
    Eagles
    Talking Heads (2x)
    Sade
    Annie Lennox
    Frank Sinatra - some benefit thing (hey, it was free.)
    Earth, Wind & Fire
    Al Green (after he became REVEREND Al Green, at the Wiltern.)
    Garbage
    Isley Brothers (not sure if there were ANY original members in there,)
    Bruce Springsteen

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  38. Heh. You asked for it. A mere selection* of the best, worst, and most embarrassing:

    The Early years:
    - Whitesnake (my First Real Concert (age 13)
    - Metallica (And Justic for All tour)
    - Kiss (Opener: Anthrax) - Kiss's first farewell tour
    - Bon Jovi (Brotherhood Tour) with Skid Row!
    - Def Leppard (Hysteria Tour)
    - Colin James

    In University and since...
    - Clay Walker / Diamond Rio
    - The Watchmen
    - Spirit of the West
    - Jann Arden
    - Great Big Sea
    - Moist / I Mother Earth
    - Big Sugar
    - Blue Rodeo (I think I must have stalked them, I've seen them so many times)
    - Age of Electric
    - Green Day (suuuuuckfest?)
    - Martina Sorbara
    - Holly Cole
    - Mir
    - Billy Joel
    - The Catherine Wheel

    With My Mom...
    -Sting
    -Kenny Rogers
    -Neil Diamond
    -the Everly Brothers

    ugh. Ok, too many to even try to revisit. Loved your list, though.

    * caution: Lots of Canadian bands people may have never heard of. Sorry!

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  39. Alice Cooper
    Elton John
    Tom Petty
    Cars
    Alabama
    Dave Mason
    Pink Floyd
    Rush
    Crosby, Stills and Nash
    Styx
    REO Speedwagon
    Rolling Stones
    Santana

    and probably a couple of others while I was in College but that time is a little hazy for me, too.

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  40. - Bush/Goo Goo Dolls/No Doubt (where Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale met! All because I was at their concert, I'm sure!)
    - Live (x3)
    - Stone Temple Pilots (so good)
    - Fiona Apple (x2 and again this July)
    - Ani DiFranco
    - Tori Amos
    - Dave Matthews Band
    - David Gray
    - Gomez
    - John Mayer
    - Counting Crows
    - And with my parents when I was little...Air Supply (GAH!)

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  41. I've seen a lot of the same ones as you!

    Here's my list of the ones I remember:

    Rage Against The Machine
    Pantera
    Skid Row
    Warrant
    Winger
    Slaughter
    Kiss
    Poison
    Bulletboys
    Queensryche
    Aerosmith
    Firehouse
    Jackyl
    Dangerous Toys
    Phish
    Def Leppard
    Ricky Martin
    1-2 Lollapaloozas
    1 Ozzfest

    As you can probably figure out from this list, I haven't been to a concert in a LONG time!

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  42. Anonymous10:51 AM

    Arg. Just when I thought I was getting over my traumatic stress disorder from the 80s.

    My first concert was...Night Ranger. Yes. Worship me.

    Followed by...in no particular order:

    Van Halen (David Lee Roth)
    Bryan Adams
    Huey Lewis
    Chicago
    Air Supply
    Toto
    Scorpions/Ratt
    The Beach Boys
    Heart
    Boston
    Pink Floyd
    The Beastie Boys
    Reo Speedwagon
    Journey/Outfield
    ZZ Top
    U2/Los Lobos
    Phil Collins
    Billy Joel
    Buddy Guy
    James Ingram
    Taj Mahal
    Kenny Chesney
    Trisha Yearwood
    311
    Celine Dion
    Green Day
    Aerosmith/Dokken
    Everclear
    David Bowie/Duran Duran
    Crosby Stills & Nash
    Alice in Chains
    Soundgarden (their last show, when their bassist walked off the stage).

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  43. oh man ... I couldn't list the concerts I went to because I used to work for a concert promoter and went to like 3/4 per week, BUT, I will say that Tom Petty is one of the best show's I've ever seen. And I'm not even that big of a fan.

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  44. Anonymous11:30 AM

    I should win for biggest concert loser but here goes:

    DC Talk, front row seats.- Never heard of 'em? Yeah, that's because they're a christian rap band from the early 90's. I tried to warn you...

    Moby, Outkast, and some band that had acquired Billy Corgan - had a great time dancing and moshing in the rain.. Realized that although we were in college, my friends were not over their weed and X days. I do remember seeing a guy in a wheelchair dancing his torso off in the rave tent. It was actually pretty cool.

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  45. Anonymous11:31 AM

    Oh, and Jars of Clay on my birthday. They played at my college.

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  46. This is like asking me to show you my underwear with the holes in them:

    Dave Matthews (3)
    Pearl Jam
    Indigo Girls
    Britney Spears

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  47. I'm sorry... Fear Factor rocks! :)

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  48. My list came to a screeching halt coincidentally the year I had my first child. But before that I saw such bands as (in a somewhat chronological order):

    Ted Nugent/Nazareth
    Rush/Styx
    Heart
    Eagles/Steve Miller/Pablo Cruise (great concert!)
    Aerosmith
    Yes (another great concert)
    ELP
    David Gates (wtf???)
    Eddie Money (back when he didn't suck)
    Van Halen (most excellent concert!)
    Boston
    (a bunch more I don't remember)

    *20 year gap*

    then, last summer - James Taylor (most most excellent concert!)

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  49. I had a very sheltered teenagehood, so I was denied my dream of seeing Duran Duran at the height of their rockgodhood. I did, however, get to see the Beach Boys and Creedence Clearwater Revival (both after baseball games.) Oh yeah, that really upped my cool factor, huh? It didn't get much better once I got older:

    Jethro Tull (twice - what? Don't hate.)
    Manheim Steamroller (yeah. twice.)
    MARC COHN (Three times, sucka! This man ROCKS my world. If I wasn't already married and at my quota for children (one), I would so have his babies.)
    Suzanne Vega (so way fab live)
    Uh. Dayum. That's it. I'm boring. And now I'm sad.

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  50. Anonymous4:57 PM

    first concert:
    blue oyster cult/aldo nova/dokken
    night ranger - 3x's
    warrant
    kiss/winger/slaughter: gene simmons grabbed my ass and i partied with slaughter.
    motley crue
    honeydrippers
    sting-x2
    tears for fears
    steve miller-x3
    they might be giants
    lollapooloza (with beatie boys, smashing pumpkins)
    smashing pumpkins
    hordefest(with smashing pumkins)
    edgefest (in dallas w/dinosaur jr. and belly)
    prince - conceived #2 kid afterwards
    fiona apple/coldplay
    nine inch nails/marilyn manson
    sarah mcglauglin/lisa loeb. (can't spell her name)
    tori amos
    the cramps
    and many more...of which i'm sure my brain was alcohol soaked therefore, i don't remember being there.

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  51. Anonymous4:58 PM

    oh, rick springfield twice
    and reo speedwagon/styx this weekend.

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  52. Anonymous9:58 AM

    Duran Duran with Erasure - 1986
    Depeche Mode with OMD - 1988
    Depeche Mode with Nitzer Ebb - 1990
    Front 242 - 1991
    Arrested Development (the artists who sang "Tennessee", not the TV show) - 1992
    Morrissey - 1992
    Depeche Mode - 1998
    Depeche Mode - 2000
    Rush - 2002
    Depeche Mode - 2005

    I guess what you can tell about me is that I really like Depeche Mode.

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  53. Anonymous9:59 AM

    Ooops - forgot about Lollapalooza in 1990 (the first one, with Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Ice-T, Jane's Addiction, and I've forgotten who else...).

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  54. Don't laugh..too hard.

    First - BTO/Kim Mitchell/Van Halen. BTO - not a great number for your first.

    2. Triumph/?
    3. Metal Church/Anthrax (yeah, that's blocked from memory. Although I did see Scott Ian hide behind a divider and pick his nose. Everytime I see him on VH1 shows, I yell out, "I saw you pick your nose!"
    4. Dokken/Aerosmith
    5. Kiss/?
    6. Boston
    7. Monsters of Rock - Kingdom Come/?/Scorpions/Van Halen
    8. Bullet Boys/Winger/Cinderella
    9. Skid Row/Winger/Bon Jovi
    10. Slaughter/Poison
    11. Slaughter/Kiss (I don't remember Winger being there)
    12. Tragically Hip/The Watchmen
    13. Sarah McLachlan/Lisa Loeb
    14. Treble Charger/Sloan/Matthew Good Band
    15. Matthew Good - solo, the last time being in April
    16. I think Whitesnake. Not sure.

    I can't remember some of the bands that played with some of them. Really, I wasn't drunk..I guess they must've not worthy of memory space.

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  55. I'm trying to remember the chronology of these concerts but damned if I can. I'll be 40 this year, have pity on me. So I'll just list them as best I can.

    1. Rolling Stones (2)
    2. Sting (love Sting!)
    3. 10,000 Maniacs
    4. Tim Finn (opened for 10,000 Maniacs but I count it because I just fell in love with him and listened to his album, which I'm probably the only person in the world to own, all the rest of that summer)
    5. Billy Joel
    6. Stevie Nicks (2x, once at Radio City Music Hall!)

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  56. Anonymous8:41 AM

    Oh my, how much time do you have? My husband and I go to live music like most people go to the movies. I love it more than anything. So I'll give you my first concert, the last I've been to and the next I'm going to:

    First - REO Speedwagon and Loverboy at the county fair in Crawford Co. PA

    Last - Yonder Mountain String Band for two days on the last engagement of their tour this year.

    Next - Bonnaroo. Hells yeah!

    PS - I have also been to Ozzfest. Wasn't that a trip? The year I went Judas Priest was there and Rob Halpert kicked so much more ass than Ozzy did.

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  57. I'm late to the party, but my first concert was - gulp - Duran Duran, and my dad took me.

    Subsequently, and this is the short list:

    DePeche Mode
    Blow Monkeys (TWICE)
    Psychedelic Furs
    Huey Lewis and the News
    Melissa Ethridge
    Bruce Springsteen

    Wow, that's embarassing!

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