Oh Rinaldo, surely we can play, too.

First was Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra (Lakewood Auditorium young peoples' concerts). First nonclassical was The Critters at the high school when I was in jr. high.

Best was the Philadelphia Orchestra concert for the Neapolitan earthquake relief in 1980. Ricardo Muti conducted the overture from Il Trovatore, and a heartbreaking Tchaikovsky Pathetique symphony, and the Beethoven Emperor Concerto with Peter Serkin (it must have been Peter, because Rudolf would have been 77). I think I may have finally Clean Sweeped something important, because I had the program until just a few months ago. I just remember sitting and weeping through much of it. So much passion and pathos and all of the musicians having donated their performances.

I wish I'd seen the Beatles. The classical people in my lifetime that I wanted to see I saw. But there are a few performing now I hope I'll see before I'm done.

I bet that she was having horrible flashbacks of NKOTB like I am now. I was thirteen. Thirteen year olds should all be kept in cages.

Oh how right you are, Zivra. If I'd been let out in public at age thirteen, my first concert would have been, without a doubt, John Denver. I was hopelessly smitten. I remember tearing up at his Christmas Special when he was singing Merry Christmas to his new little son Zachary. God. I'm surprised I didn't slump into a diabetic coma from all the sugar slopping around that show.

However, I must admit that even now, I know the words to far, far too many JD tunes.

I can count on one hand the live concerts I've been to:
Joan Baez, near campus in college, Billy Joel, on campus in law school, Phil Collins (without Genesis) and the Billy Joel/Elton John Piano Man Tour on their first leg in 1995. (If you include classical, then I've been to the Atlanta Symphony thrice, including once during the Atlanta Olympics, as well as a Jass Summit led by Winton Marsales during that same week on a different night in the very same hall.) And a National Symphony performance or two when I lived in D.C. (a family friend in high school performed with them at the time.)
Best one without a doubt was the Billy Joel-Elton John combo. Four hours plus of musical heaven.
Artist regret not seeing (yet): Good question; so I don't know if I can list just one so I can't really answer that.

I'm much too old for that!

1. What was your first concert? (No lying, you Milli Vanilli goers)

Genesis on the Trick of the Tail tour. Unless you count the Fogerty brothers sans John playing at my senior prom.


2. What was the best concert you ever saw?

It's a tie. Either the Fleetwood Mac Rumors tour, or else Meg Christian and Cris Williamson at Carnegie Hall in 1982.


3. What artist, dead or alive, do you most regret not seeing?

Simon and Garfunkel (together -- I've seen Paul Simon in concert, and he was very good, but I wish I had seen them together when they still liked each other).


I hadn't realized how many concerts I had been to until I took this trip down memory lane. Nevertheless, the music performance(s) I am most pleased about having seen are performances of Figaro in San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Munich, Amsterdam, Zurich, Tokyo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen (not to mention Eugene, OR, but they sang it in English, so it hardly counts). It's surprising how often I have washed up in some random city, looked in the paper for performance listings, and found that opera on offer.

How about an additional category: Best Musical Suprise

I went to a lecture by Wynton Marsalis after he won the Pulitzer for Blood on the Fields. It was a wonderful talk about the concepts and history involved in the work- no one was expecting music; it was an academic enviroment, no trumpet in sight etc. Towards the end, after explaining how different runs were evocative of certain things, he got a wicked little grin on his face, said something like 'here, let me show you', pulled a trumpet out that had been hidden behind a chair, and proceded to play for a good ten minutes. Bliss!

1. What was your first concert? (No lying, you Milli Vanilli goers)

Billy Joel, Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, 1980 or 1981.

2. What was the best concert you ever saw?

Tough call. Guns n' Roses in Budapest in 1992 was very cool, mostly for who, what, and where it was, but as a concert? Eh. I'll have to go with Barenaked Ladies, Massey Hall, Toronto, 1995 or 1996.

3. What artist, dead or alive, do you most regret not seeing?

If it's someone I actually had the opportunity to see, I'll say Bruce Springsteen. He came through Montreal in the summer of 1984, and I was actually there. I was, sadly, oblivious, so I missed it.

All time greatest regret? Never seeing Stan Rogers live.

1. What was your first concert? (No lying, you Milli Vanilli goers)

I don't remeber for sure. It was either Loverboy or Foreigner. If I had been allowed out at 13 it would have been Andy Gibb or Sean Cassidy.

2. What was the best concert you ever saw?

Simon and Garfunkel at the Skydome. Blue Rodeo and Gordon Lightfoot opened and that was pretty amazing in and of itself.

3. What artist, dead or alive, do you most regret not seeing?

I'm really not sure of the answer to this one, but I'll say Genesis, when they still had Peter Gabriel. That or just plain Peter Gabriel. The concert was in Montreal and my Mum wouldn't let me go that far by myself.

Peter Gabriel is great in concert. I drove from Austin to Houston and back one day to see him in concert (on the US tour). It was so great, I drove to Dallas and back (3 and a half hours each way) to see him the next day.

Oh dear heaven, BoDiva, I think this one hurt so much I temporarily blocked it from my memory.

When I was 13 I won -- yes, WON, from a radio station call-in contest -- a FRONT-ROW seat to a Beatles concert.

On what turned out to be their LAST American tour.

My father made me go CAMPING.

My girlfriend who was the favored recipient of the ticket was so close to the stage she TOUCHED Paul McCartney.

Please excuse me while I crawl off into a corner weeping gently....

Oh Mama Tiger, you have my sympathies. That is the one I would have liked to see although a good friend of mine saw them and she said you couldn't hear a thing because the screaming was so loud.

My first concert was Paul Young at the Halifax Forum in 1985 and my favourite was also the Elton John/Billy Joel concert in 95.

Actually, now that I've recuperated from my lost-Beatles-opportunity sadness again, I have to admit that it would have been a knockdown-dragout between Tigersister and I as to who would have actually ended up with the ticket and going to the concert. To this day we haven't quite settled the issue.

But it's still the biggest regret of my lifetime, I honestly do believe.

First concert: Loretta Lynn at the Mosque in Richmond, VA when I was a kid. My dad ran a C&W radio station and we got to go backstage and meet her. Very cool.

Best concert: k.d. lang at the Mosque (I'm sensing a trend) when she came out as a Lllllllllllllawrence Welk fan! (cue bubble machine and Miss Chatelaine) Seriously, k.d. gives the best concerts. There's a reason Vanity Fair compared her to Elvis. Go see her if she's near you.

Missed concert I regret: Tina Turner in Copenhagen in 1984 (the Private Dancer tour). I could have gone if only the killer jet lag hadn't made me sleep right through it.

I owe the fact that I can hold my head up about the first concert I ever attended to my cool best friend and her mama, who dragged me to see Bob Marley when I was about 13 (1978 or thereabouts). If left to my own devices it probably would have been Andy Gibb or something.
For classical performances, I honestly don't remember - my parents started taking me to classical stuff and operas when I was about nine. I think the first opera I saw was Carmen.
Best overall concert: probably the Grateful Dead at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley in the early 80's.
And some additional stuff I feel like rambling about:
Best moment from a concert: Frederica Von Stade singing Bernstein's "A Little Bit in Love" in recital. It was just perfect and amazing. She had the entire crowd not just silent but completely transported. When she finished, there was an eruption of applause and screaming like nothing I've ever witnessed at a classical concert or recital. If it had been a rock concert, fans would have been rioting. The reviewer in the paper the next day wrote about how she sang that song and the audience's reaction to it. I don't think she's ever recorded it, which is a shame.
Best musical moment accidentally stumbled upon: Doc Watson picking and singing with friends in a little country store way out in the middle of nowhere in East Tennessee.
Best meaningless personal connection to a musical performer: I used to be his babysitter.
Best meaningless family connection to a musical performer: my sister was his high school girlfriend.

Oh Mama Tiger! My dad was such a sweetie about these things that he actually was the first of us to really know who the Beatles were and he bought us their first album as a family gift. This was before they were on the Ed Sullivan show. But we didn't do concerts. We did sporting events. But he'd never have expected one of us to miss something like that unless great money would be lost in the process.

Still, one of my favorite things my clueless about culture dad ever did for me (aside from paying for my degree in voice--when he thought all opera was in Italian) was to stand in line to buy me a ticket to see Peter Martins and Mikhail Baryshnikov (they toured together one summer). I think I must have gone alone (and I think it was the Mann, but it could have been Robin Hood Dell), because I don't remember anyone being with me, and they were magnificent.

Oh Misha...be still my heart. He did that great Le Jeune Homme et la Morte. He was wonderful in classical stuff, but the modern stuff...there are no words.

My sister's girlfriend dated one of Brubeck's sons while we were in high school. One spring break, she was invited to accompany them to their private island in the Pacific. Damn.

I don't think my mom can name all 4 Beatles. I don't get it! I mean, she was in her young 20s when they came to the US - in fact, their Sullivan show appearance was when she was 21 and I was a few months old. I know young parents don't really have the time for a lot of things, but how could she have never learned something this basic?

I remember one day a while ago when we were talking on the phone and she said, "Oh, a member of that band older you love so much, The Who, was on TV this morning, but I didn't want to call and wake you." "Was it Pete? If you didn't wake me up when Pete Townshend was on TV, I might have to disown you." "No, that wasn't his name." "Roger? It's okay if you let me sleep through him." "No, that wasn't it either." "John?" "No." "Well, those are the only living members left." I stopped and tried to think. Then, I realised that Paul McCartney had a new album out. "Was his name Paul? Paul McCartney?" "Yes! That's it." "He was in the Beatles, not The Who." "Oh. Is it okay that I let you sleep through that?" "Yes."

I'm with Rinaldo on the concert definition thing. While my taste in music is fairly eclectic, the only non-classical concert I've ever been to was Simon and Garfunkel at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium in, I think, 1982. They hated each other, but the concert was good anyway.

If my parents had let my brother be the most wonderful brother in the world, my first concert would have been Donny Osmond when I was ten. He wanted to buy tickets for my birthday & he volunteered to take me. He was 20 so I've always thought it was pretty cool of him to offer.

First concert: Audio Adrenaline and Rebecca St.James (CCM-- Christian Contemporary Music artists)....woo hoo for growing up in the very Christian, very conservative West Michigan!

Best concert: The Indigo Girls-- I saw them on their most recent/current tour. The concert wasn't sold out so it was one of those concerts where you felt like the Girls were singing right to you.

I'm sad about missing: Well, since I still (presumably) have a lot of life to live, I will say that I eventually hope to see U2....but the concert I'm mad about missing was The Tragically Hip, who played at my college during my freshman year. I went to the concert, but left early because my stupid boyfriend-at-the-time didn't like it. Of course I, not being the strong woman I am today, left with him.

Oh Mama, that memory even made me weep! No wonder you repressed it!

Oh Lord. When I was in university in Kingston, the Hip were still a local bar band. I think I might actually have seen them once, but I was too drunk to remember it.

Heh. Good times.

GRBecca, my best friend took a walk during Nickelback a few weeks ago. Then I went walking during Puddle of Mud. Fortunately, neither of us felt the need to stay with the other.

And a nice EMT had spare earplugs she gave me, which let me go back. Sitting 12 rows in front of speakers could rob me of the high range of hearing, of which I'm rather fond.

But 3 Doors Down were greater than great (we both agreed). And I liked the opening act (12 Stones), my friend's not sure. I guess that means the concert qualifies as uneven.

I haven't been to many nonclassical concerts. But James Taylor was possibly the most boring 1 1/2 hours of any genre I ever paid for.

I've seen Billy Joel twice (both at Penn State) and Harry Chapin twice--I must have liked them or I wouldn't have double dipped.

First concert: Joan Jett opening for the Police in Charlotte, NC. I had safety pins in my ears. My date had a chain running from his earlobe to his cheek.

Best concert: Crosby, Stills and Nash when they toured again in the 80s. They owned the audience and you felt as if you were sitting in someone's living room listening to some guys play great music.

Best small performance: Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Guy looks like five miles of bad road and comes out with no presence. Then he opens his mouth and sings and is magnificent. If you get a chance, go. I think he's traveling as "The Flatlanders" these days.

Ones I missed: Waylon Jennings and/or Johnny Cash. It's killing me that the musicians from my mother's kitchen radio are dying off. Also Jimmy Buffett, before he became ***Jimmy Freaking Buffett***.

miri, was it Menudo? You can admit it.

Hildy, don't feel bad about not hearing of any of the bands I mentioned. Half the people my age (18) haven't heard them, because while they are big in the metal world, they aren't mainstream.

I've thought about the third question, and I'd have to say that I regret not going to see The Used when they were playing in Toronto. Unfortunately, their concert happened to be the night of senior prom, which was the day before the In Flames concert that I mentioned. Hopefully, they'll come back when they release their next album, because I've heard they put on a really good live show.

Last year, we were supposed to go see Nothingface at the Trasheteria in Guelph, but they cancelled because their singer came down with bronchitis. Now, Nothingface is one of my favourite bands, so I was very pissed off about this. Almost a year to the day of the first show they were scheduled to play again, this time at the Kool Haus in Toronto. And, what do you know, they broke up before they ever made it here. So I guess I regret not seeing that one but there isn't really much I could do about it.

Oh yeah, when I was in Lucerne, Switzerland, I saw the Salzburg Symphony Orchestra play Mozart. It was absolutely phenomenal, even though our seats were shit. (Balcony, right at the side.) My musical tastes aren't really eclectic; I just like good music, whether it be metal, classical, or punk.

This post is getting quite long, and in case you can't tell, I really like music and I have quite a lot to say about it.

Oh, word to the wordeth degree! Jimmie Dale is phenomenal, as is one of his fellow Flatlanders, Joe Ely. I've seen them both in small settings, and they just put on terrific shows. Great singer/songwriters, both of them.
And another of my most favoritest artists that I've never seen play but really want to is a guy named Dave Alvin. (NO, nothing to do with The Chipmunks.) His voice and lyrics can make you shiver.

I still remember the performance of Debussy's La Mer that the Cleveland Orchestra put on at my college (Oberlin), conducted by Pierre Boulez. Sheer perfection!

And to further classify myself as a occasional musical square, when we were living in DC one of the attorneys I worked for gave us tickets to the King's Singers for a Christmas gift. It was a truly spectacular concert, even though I think we were the youngest people in the audience!

And to seal my fate, my uncle was a top 40 DJ in Hawai'i (known on air as The Moose -- he later was a gossip columnist for many years for the Star-Bulletin, Dave Donnelly, if we have any Hawai'ians here -- note the tiny pause inserted) and I was just madly jealous that he got to meet and escort that non-musical non-group the Monkees around Honolulu. Fortunately, I outgrew that quickly.

Other great concerts: Saw the Who twice (although no performance of Tommy, sadly). Have seen Crosby, Stills & Nash twice, although in recent years; it was interesting getting a contact high at the MCI Center. Saw several Pete Seeger concerts when I was young -- any time there was a fundraiser, he'd get called on, and would generously donate half his take to whatever the charity was; he could get anyone to enjoy traditional and folk music. Same for Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who perform annually at the Barns of Wolf Trap; there's a charm to their music that is truly unique. And we saw Great Big Sea last year here in New Orleans at a tiny venue at the House of Blues -- maybe 250 people in attendance -- and since they'd been touring places where they'd never been heard of, to find a GBS crowd here was just pure heaven for them and it was a fantastic and wonderful show. When Alan sang, "I am the fountain of existence," and the whole audience responded with, "I'm the instrument of joy," you could just see him relax and breathe a sigh of relief. ::swoon:: And yes, I am old enough to be his mother, but if someone's 85-year-old mother can fall in love with Phil over in the Phil thread, why not me and Alan? :-)

Nope - after my time.

I think I've admitted it before on this thread, but my first concert? Was Jack Wagner. Yup, good old Frisco Jones, pre-Melrose and a bunch of crappy tv movies. Back when "All I Need" made me swoon. Also, my second concert? Was Jack Wagner. And I bough a t-shirt. I was 13. Shut UP. And a couple of years later, a couple of friends dragged me to see Milli Vanilli. I do not have an auspicious concert history. I mean, I've seen Kenny Rogers live. Sigh.

Although I have seen They Might Be Giants three times, so maybe that redeems me a little bit?

Mama Tiger,
Don't tell me that this is Mister Gotta-go-camping's BROTHER!? The hell?

Mister Gotta-go-camping? Huh?

From the previous page. Your dad and the Beatles concert.

ETA: Hee! I just had this sitcom-like mental image of a long suffering couple raising an intrepid outdoorsman who didn't get the Beatles and a rock D.J.

Oh, no. This is Mister Gotta-go-camping's brother-in-law, who we only saw about two times in my entire life because once he settled in Hawai'i (he was stationed there in the Navy, got out, went home to Iowa blizzards, and turned around and went back and never left) it was hard to pry him away and back onto the mainland. Or, to put it more clearly, my mother's youngest brother.

I have a knack for not getting to concerts that I should have seen (or even had tickets for,) so I'll answer in that vein.

First concert I missed? The Moody Blues at Ravinia Festival. Rabrabsis's boyfriend had four tickets, and offered to take me and his younger brother along. Mom said no, I was too young. <sulk>

Best concert I missed? Billy Joel's The Stranger Tour, in Mobile. I was stuck on the interstate halfway between New Orleans and Mobile with a busted radiator, and the tickets in my wallet.

Best one I've actually seen? Leon Redbone. That man just enjoys himself so much it should be illegal.

Brush with greatness? A member of my extended-family-by-choice had a garage band back in the early 60's. One of his buddies had written a song, but they thought it needed a female singing lead, so they got one of the neighborhood girls to sing it for them. The band? The Stone Poneys. The buddy? Mike Nesmith. The girl? Linda Ronstadt.

Miri, I think you're a bit younger than I am, so I'll take a stab -- Lief Garrett?

Ah, memories of when I had free tickets to go see Our Lady Peace playing at our college pub but I was too damned lazy to walk 5 minutes from the dorm to the pub, so I didn't go. :::bangs head against wall:::

My guess in the Miri embarrassing concert pool: David Cassidy!

Also, I have no shame in admitting my embarrassing concert stories. I saw NKOTB 4 times! I had 3rd row to see Barry Manilow! And if ABBA ever got back together, I would be first in line for tickets! (Gee, I wonder why I wasn't popular in high school?)

I have a friend in Canada who's gone to see Abbamania three times in the last year. Ack!

I can't even remember my first concert, but it was probably an orchestra. I grew up in a musical family, played several instruments, went to music camps, and majored in it in college.

Best concert?
Classical - would have to be one of my many, many visits to the Chicago Symphony while in college. We used to take the train from Ann Arbor to Chicago on Saturdays to get the last minute student discount tickets.
Non-Classical - James Taylor. The man put on a 3 and a half hour concert non stop. It was wonderful - that man needs no help from technology, his voice is amazing.
And for a regular old good time, nothing beats a Cake concert. Love that band.

I worked for several summers at Interlochen Arts Camp which has an amazing summer concert series. Doesn't matter what kind of music you are into - they'll likely have something for you. I was in charge of getting our campers to the concerts they had purchased tickets for, and I was also responsible for assigning counselor chaperones. That meant I had first choice and got to see all sorts of goodies. I remember one week where I got to see the Monkees, Harry Chapin, the Boston Pops, Bonnie Raitt, and the Doobie Brothers one night after another. I miss that place...

I would have loved to have seen the Beatles. My mom saw them several times and I love her stories. Up until last year I would have also said Simon and Garfunkel but I caught them on their tour this year in San Jose - hubby got me tickets for my birthday.

My first concert (and if I can admit this, miri, you can admit yours):

Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. As in “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero”. Truly cringe-worthy. I have all sorts of perfectly good excuses: it was free; it was in my small hometown; a boy I was interested in was going to be there; I was too young to know better, etc.

Now what I tell anyone else is that my first concert was J. Geils Band, .38 Special, and Peter Frampton (way back in 1977).

Best concert:

I’ve been to so many concerts over the years; it’s very hard to narrow down.

I’m a fan of Springsteen from waaay back, so the 3 ½ hour concert during the 1981 The River tour or the 2002 The Rising tour were the best of the 6 times I’ve seen him.
Don Henley’s End of the Innocence tour.
Talking Heads (early 80’s)
Aerosmith (1977)
John Cougar (mid 80’s)
Billy Joel (mid 90s)
The Police (not the Synchronicity tour, but the tour before that. The Synchronicity concert was o.k., but it just didn’t compare to the previous one.)

Concerts I wish I’d seen:
Eagles (during the 70s), Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Led Zeppelin

My guess for miri's embarrassing concert: Bobby Sherman.

My first concert would have been very embarrassing if I could have gotten tickets, but I could not. It would have been the Bay City Rollers. (Shut UP!)

Concert I turned down a chance to see because I was freaking afraid of the person who asked me on that date: Talking Heads Stop Making Sense. I am sorry to have missed the concert, but not sorry not to have dated that psycho. (She later committed suicide on the hood of another friend's car.)

ETA: Dude! I would have been so jealous of the Bo Donaldson thing during those years. I wore out a copy of that album. At least i was over my inexplicable affection for crap bubblegum by the time Debbie Boone came along...

Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. NKOTB? Four times? That's hardcore. I was the one lonely outcast kid in Jr. High who didn't actually like NKOTB though.

First concert? I think it was Sass Jordan at the Gloucester Fair. But the first concert that COUNTS (meaning that I bought a ticket for) was Suede at Barrymores.

Best concert? Easy. Radiohead, Maple Leaf Gardens, 1998. Sigh. I could listen to Thom Yorke sing forever. AND I got to meet some of the band after the show and had my CD signed. I was obsessed.

Biggest regret? Probably not seeing Nirvana when they toured Europe while I was there. An American friend and I were going to get tickets for a show, then decided it would be easier to see them back in North America. This was 1994. Kurt Cobain killed himself a few weeks later.

Heh - so far, no one's got it right in reference to me...but the name has been mentioned in the thread. Think the ulimate in cheese and teeth.

miri: Donny Osmond?

AnneH's comment about him reminded me of this time (during his comeback attempt in the 90's) I was ranting to my mother about what a tool he was and she informed me that, when I was little, she couldn't pry me away from the TV when The Osmonds was on. I've apparently blocked this out.

Cheese and teeth? Jack Wagner.

Zivra - I wish I was as lucky. It wasn't just Donny, it was a whole family extravaganza including the youngest one who's name I have managed to block out, thank goodness.

Jimmy.

I win!

The sad thing is that now that I don't care about being cool, I think that sounds like a fun show.

miri: You are not alone. I had individual pictures of all 5 Osmonds (Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, and Donny) taped to the wall at the head of my bed. Donny was in the middle and his picture was the biggest, of course. (but I kept an eye on Merrill, too). In my opinion, Jimmy was just not worthy to be on the wall. I also still have several of their 45s and albums. I just can’t make myself throw away any old albums (I’ve got about 150 of those) or 45s (I’ve got about 100 of those). If I run across albums or 45s for sale at a flea market or garage sale, I’ll buy them. I even still have a case of about twenty 8-tracks!

I saw Donny in a performance of "Joseph and His Technicolor Dreamcoat" about ten years ago, and I have to say that even though I was dragged there against my will, I was very impressed because he really did a super job and I enjoyed the show a lot. It was the right role for him, you know? And he does have a good, clear stage voice.

First Concert: Newsboys. Pray for me.

Best Concert: Tori Amos, Halloween Night, Purdue. Awesome.

Concert Most Regret Missing: Switchfoot, Hamtramck, MI, a free show put on by 89X.

My parents took us to Gordon Lightfoot when I was young. But I consider my first concert Arlo Guthrie on Martha's Vineyard - a friend had won tickets, but couldn't go. So another friend and I took two days off from work on our island, borrowed a car, drove to the ferry, learned on the ferry that we wouldn't be able to sleep on the beach. In line for the tickets, my friend scored us a floor to sleep on. Great show - he did Alice's Resteraunt and This Land is Your Land. We got a flat on the way back to catch the boat to our island, and the jack wasn't working. A telephone repairman stopped and helped us out.

Best was The Waterboys at a bullring in Portugal. Great venue, great band, but the boyfriend I was traveling with insisted we didn't need seats, so we stood in the ring all night. I am too short to enjoy tight crowds for long, but overall a great experience.

Livingston Taylor (James' brother) came to campus in college, and all my punk rock friends came with me. During intermission Livingston came up and introducted himself to me, we had a nice chat, and he let me pick out the intermission music (Taj Mahal). My punk rock friends were all looking at me like wtf?