We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. We are now into our sixth year!
This month, we are talking about our most memorable concert experiences. We'd love to know what yours are, so please don't hesitate to share in the comments!
We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them.
The first concert I ever attended was to see the rock group Quarterflash with my dad at the Oregon State Fair. I think I was six at the time, and given the concert was held outdoors at the Salem Fairgrounds, I remember it was a warm night, with lots of people, and the songs were really loud. I really don’t remember a whole lot about it, but I still enjoy a few songs from Quarterflash and even have those songs on my current playlist. Music was always a big deal in my family, so it doesn’t surprise me that my dad would take me to a concert at such a young age.
It was nearly a decade later when I saw SWV at the same venue. This time, at fourteen, I went with a group of friends, and we felt like grown ups out on the fairgrounds without adult supervision. The State Fair is always held during summer months, and even though SWV performed during daytime hours, the heat didn’t bother me. One friend ended up on stage during the song “Right Here,” and I accidentally left my purse on the bleachers and never got it back. All in all, it felt like a pretty momentous occasion.
During my teen years, I went through a phase where I’d go to late-night indie concerts in downtown Salem. I still have an old flyer from one of the concerts I attended, back in 1995. I know it’s advertised for “all ages,” but during Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’s “Sockable Face,” a majority of the crowd broke out into a gigantic mosh pit, with many of the concertgoers throwing punches at one another. I sat on a tall male friend’s shoulders, so I didn’t get caught up in the drama, but it’s still one of the most memorable concerts I’ve ever attended. They really put on an amazing show.
One of my favorite groups, Garbage, did the college circuit back when we were about to hit the new millenia. I had moved to Arizona to live with my then-boyfriend, who drove us from the Phoenix area to Tucson’s University of Arizona. I could not believe my good fortune to get to see them in concert. At one point, two random strangers we didn’t know pulled us down through the crowd right to the front of the stage, and if anyone has ever attended a Garbage concert and had the privilege to be close to Shirley Manson, you know just how attentive she is with her fans. It feels like she’s singing just for you. I saw them again in the early 2000’s, when they opened for No Doubt, and again last year when they were in Arizona again. In some strange way, it felt a little like I’d come full circle, considering I’d seen Garbage when I first moved to Arizona when I was just a kid, then moved away and lived a whole lifetime before moving back to the valley of the sun and going to a Garbage concert again 25 years later. Much like the first time, I was only four rows back from the stage, and even though I’m a bit older, I felt like I was a young adult, getting to witness the band’s charm all over again. It was magical.
I will be honest here...concerts aren't really my thing. I've gone to them and they were fun enough, but I prefer to spend my money on musicals. To me, concerts are people standing on a stage singing the same songs that are on their CDs. However, I will admit to some concerts being memorable.
My first concert ever was Michael Jackson's Thriller tour when I was maybe around seven years old. I was obsessed with his Thriller album at the time and was so excited to see him perform live. I even got a program that I'd look at all the time. The only disappointment was that when we thought we had good seats, there were actually a whole set of rows on the lawn in front of us. (This was at what was once known as Commiskey Park in Chicago.) In any case, it was a cool experience to have as a kid who couldn't stop listening to his music.
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When I was in eighth grade, I went to the New Kids on the Block concert with my best friend and sister. My best friend's mother was the chaperone. I was a huge NKOTB fan at the time, so this concert was a huge deal. I even cried when I saw Joey through our shared set of binoculars. Years later (like in our early 40s), my best friend and I saw a NKOTB concert again, this time with Boyz II Men and Paula Abdul performing, as well. It was a fun and nostalgic evening and we were definitely screaming for our favorite New Kids.
I got to see Barenaked Ladies twice (once when Alanis Morissette was also performing) and they put on a good show too. I also got to see Wham and Whitney Houston when I was a kid. (I feel like I curse people I see concerts for...MJ, George Michael, and Whitney are now long gone. I also went to a concert at the Grand Ole Opry--same year as the second NKOTB concert--and a few months later one of the performers--from Montgomery Gentry--was killed in a plane crash.) I also saw the Dixie Chicks back when I was into their music.
This leads me to the most memorable concert of my life...Weird Al. When I was going into freshman year of college, we had an orientation weekend and Weird Al did a free concert for all the freshmen. It was such an entertaining evening. He'd practically do music videos instead of just standing on stage and singing. Between songs, he'd play these videos of fake interviews (where it looked like he was interviewing celebrities but he was actually asking his own questions and playing their responses to other questions). So hilarious! This is one he did with Bruce Springsteen. The best was when he introduced "Headline News" and everyone screamed when he got to the Bobbitt part. (Yes, this was in the mid-90s.) I also remember that there was a Weird Al lookalike in the audience. I still talk about this concert and what a great time I had there. Weird Al is still iconic, but I love his older music more than his new stuff. I'm more old school for the songs I grew up with.
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| Courtesy of YouTube |
There you have it on my concert background!
What is your most memorable concert?
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