I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to attending concerts. Growing up I was never allowed to go to any shows being in a devout Catholic family because of... let's just call them religious "reasons".
That said- I still remember my first concert, it was the "Pop Disaster" tour in... 2002(?). The headliner was Green Day (this was before the American Idiot album came out), the opening act was "Saves the DaY" and the mid act was the actual band I wanted to see above all else, Blink 182.
As time went on- I spent a considerable amount of my life as a self proclaimed concert whore. It used to be "pit tickets or bust" I was there when a mosh pit broke out at a Korn concert and we stood at attention in front of the 1st SGT because one had a broken collar bone & another had a black eye that looked like he went a round or two with Mike Tyson.
I was there when Papa Roach wasn't on the ticket but they did a surprise appearance in a concert opened by "Burn Halo" and headlined by "Avenged Sevenfold" I happened to pick the "right" bar that night after the show to have a few drinks with Avenged Sevenfold one on one and didn't realize that the whole time I was bullshitting with them they had a guy "inviting/snagging" every attractive woman in the bar to party with them in a reserved room upstairs (I was not invited upstairs with them and was left with the downstairs sausage party)
I saw "Flyleaf" in the Theatre of the Living Arts during a time when they were unknown and touring with "Smile Empty Soul" & "Cold". They were the opening act and this 5' nothing lead singer came out and we are all asking "WTF" and let me tell you this woman had some lungs on her. We ended up talking to the band afterwards and bought their CD literally out of the trunk of their car. We thought we'd get an invite to an afterparty because things were going so well- whelp it wasn't initially obvious but they're a christian rock band so... yeah that didn't work out.
I was there at the 3 Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Buckcherry concert. One of the best battle buddies you could have asked for wore a shirt with a stick figure depiction of a stripper on a pole with the text underneath saying "I support single moms" and a chick literally purchased the shirt off of his back in exchange for a concert T & some extra cash while our "DD" drowned himself in Jack & Cokes.
I remember when the roles reversed and I had to be "that" battle buddy for someone else. I had whored myself out often enough that I got "insider" offers from Live Nation. So during the Dark Horse Tour with Nickelback, Seether & Saving Able. That tour was sold out but I bought enough concert tickets by that point I was able to snag pit tickets last minute for my battle & me in Atlanta. I also met some folks that night in the Pit which put my life trajectory on a completely different path.
I was at Warped Tour (either '04 or '05) in Camden, NJ where it was so hot that they called the fire department in and they literally hosed down the crowd. Problem was this was all set up on a giant parking lot and the humidity that followed was unbearable. To this day I can no longer drink Powerade without it triggering a gag reflex. God that ended up being miserable towards the end.
I was there holding tickets to finally see Linkin Park in Hershey, PA after years of wanting to see them only to have Chester off himself shortly before that concert. That one hurt, not so much because of the tickets I had, but I just really liked Linkin Park & that left a hole in my life.
I was there to finally see the band Sevendust for the first time and being completely shocked that the lead singer was black. I saw Bowling for Soup at the same venue shortly afterwards and had the lead singer of the opening act want to pick a physical fight with me because I didn't give a crap about them/their band and just wanted to watch BFS.
Around 20 years or so ago- I was supposed to see the band Something Corporate, and the lead singer got diagnosed with cancer shortly afterwards.... fast forward 15 years or so ago, my wife's bestie won some sort of competition and got to meet Andrew McMahon in Harrisburg and she brought my wife along for her "+1" and I ended up with his autograph...that one meant an awful lot to me.
I could keep going on but I have a lot of stories with the concerts I've attended and how they've unexpectedly altered my life path. It's wild looking back how choosing to attend a concert would end up making such a profound difference in my life & the path I'd take afterwards.
Anyone else have a similar story/experience?
-LD
That said- I still remember my first concert, it was the "Pop Disaster" tour in... 2002(?). The headliner was Green Day (this was before the American Idiot album came out), the opening act was "Saves the DaY" and the mid act was the actual band I wanted to see above all else, Blink 182.
As time went on- I spent a considerable amount of my life as a self proclaimed concert whore. It used to be "pit tickets or bust" I was there when a mosh pit broke out at a Korn concert and we stood at attention in front of the 1st SGT because one had a broken collar bone & another had a black eye that looked like he went a round or two with Mike Tyson.
I was there when Papa Roach wasn't on the ticket but they did a surprise appearance in a concert opened by "Burn Halo" and headlined by "Avenged Sevenfold" I happened to pick the "right" bar that night after the show to have a few drinks with Avenged Sevenfold one on one and didn't realize that the whole time I was bullshitting with them they had a guy "inviting/snagging" every attractive woman in the bar to party with them in a reserved room upstairs (I was not invited upstairs with them and was left with the downstairs sausage party)
I saw "Flyleaf" in the Theatre of the Living Arts during a time when they were unknown and touring with "Smile Empty Soul" & "Cold". They were the opening act and this 5' nothing lead singer came out and we are all asking "WTF" and let me tell you this woman had some lungs on her. We ended up talking to the band afterwards and bought their CD literally out of the trunk of their car. We thought we'd get an invite to an afterparty because things were going so well- whelp it wasn't initially obvious but they're a christian rock band so... yeah that didn't work out.
I was there at the 3 Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Buckcherry concert. One of the best battle buddies you could have asked for wore a shirt with a stick figure depiction of a stripper on a pole with the text underneath saying "I support single moms" and a chick literally purchased the shirt off of his back in exchange for a concert T & some extra cash while our "DD" drowned himself in Jack & Cokes.
I remember when the roles reversed and I had to be "that" battle buddy for someone else. I had whored myself out often enough that I got "insider" offers from Live Nation. So during the Dark Horse Tour with Nickelback, Seether & Saving Able. That tour was sold out but I bought enough concert tickets by that point I was able to snag pit tickets last minute for my battle & me in Atlanta. I also met some folks that night in the Pit which put my life trajectory on a completely different path.
I was at Warped Tour (either '04 or '05) in Camden, NJ where it was so hot that they called the fire department in and they literally hosed down the crowd. Problem was this was all set up on a giant parking lot and the humidity that followed was unbearable. To this day I can no longer drink Powerade without it triggering a gag reflex. God that ended up being miserable towards the end.
I was there holding tickets to finally see Linkin Park in Hershey, PA after years of wanting to see them only to have Chester off himself shortly before that concert. That one hurt, not so much because of the tickets I had, but I just really liked Linkin Park & that left a hole in my life.
I was there to finally see the band Sevendust for the first time and being completely shocked that the lead singer was black. I saw Bowling for Soup at the same venue shortly afterwards and had the lead singer of the opening act want to pick a physical fight with me because I didn't give a crap about them/their band and just wanted to watch BFS.
Around 20 years or so ago- I was supposed to see the band Something Corporate, and the lead singer got diagnosed with cancer shortly afterwards.... fast forward 15 years or so ago, my wife's bestie won some sort of competition and got to meet Andrew McMahon in Harrisburg and she brought my wife along for her "+1" and I ended up with his autograph...that one meant an awful lot to me.
I could keep going on but I have a lot of stories with the concerts I've attended and how they've unexpectedly altered my life path. It's wild looking back how choosing to attend a concert would end up making such a profound difference in my life & the path I'd take afterwards.
Anyone else have a similar story/experience?
-LD
