I was a ripe old 30 when I went to see Mushroomhead for my first concert, December 2009. I’ve been to ten concerts since then, love it, even if I do get a little paranoid about the people around me. Every time I go to one I keep checking my pockets, feeling for my phone, wallet and keys, making sure they are all still there. I’ve never been to a big arena concert, though, that would be too many people; I’ve only been to smaller venues.
I’m not counting the symphony concerts my parents dragged me to when I was a kid.
When I was 23 I went to a Kansas concert. I’ve also been to a small concert by this bluegrass player named John Hartford. Those are the only musical performances I’ve ever been in.
When I was 15 I went to see Wu-tang clan and rage against the machine at a large indoor/outdoor type venue. I was tripping on acid and smoking weed, so I don’t really remember it. I’ve been to probably a dozen concerts since then, all at small venues.
I went to the Summer Jam in Seattle in 82 or 83. I was 13. I saw Joan Jet, Blue Oyster Cult, Loverboy, Bryan Adams and I can’t remember who else. I was just a tot. I snuck. I have only been to a few concerts in my whole life but that was the first.
I saw Led Zeppelin in 1977 when I was 16. My parents drove me and my three friends up to Oakland, Ca. (just above San Francisco) to see them in an outside baseball stadium there. The next year I drove me and my friend up in my first car to the same place to see the Rolling Stones. It was hard to remember what was happening because we had taken some, er, uh, '“foriegn substances”.
1983, my brother took me to see U2 in San Francisco. I was 16 and U2 was the only secular band I listened to. I was obsessed with all things Irish. We went to every U2 concert together over the next number of years…
When I was 16, I worked as a roadie for a huge festival, helping to set up and break down the stage for a ton of bands. I stayed backstage and got to chat with all of the performers. A few gave me CDs. There were mostly local acts, but Aaron Carter was there, too. He loved walking around barefoot, and he had hairy hobbit feet. The festival was three days long, and we slept at a nearby college dorm. We were supposed to all stay in our own rooms, but we dragged our mattresses into the lounge area and stayed up all night goofing off. One week before, I had just been told I had a brain tumor and would likely die within five years, so I was definitely living life to the fullest. I met a lot of really cool people.
