Climbing the Stairway to Disco Fire
Oooh, a great theme today for Musical Monday. What was your first concert?
Sorry, but I’m going to bend the rules a little, because in the late 70s, when it came to popular music, I was a tad conflicted. My first two concerts were Chicago and then a few months later, Earth, Wind and Fire.
On the one hand there was this:
Aerosmith wasn’t my first concert.
On the other side of this great popular music schism was this:
I have never been to a Gloria Gaynor concert.
My friends and I whose idea of being cool included wearing add-a-bead necklaces with clogs, and toilet papering the homes of the mostly undeserving, would drive up and down the main drag of our narrow world. For some reason that is not clear to me, we would shriek/sing (shring?) “I will Survive” out the windows at stoplights. We laid claim neither to disco nor Led Zeppelin. After I got home by my 11 o’clock curfew, I would listen to bands like Aerosmith, The Doobie Brothers, Supertramp and The Eagles.
If the first two bands I saw in concert had performed together, it would have said pretty much all there is to say about this era in my personal music history. Chicago wasn’t exactly Aerosmith, and Earth, Wind and Fire wasn’t exactly Gloria Gaynor, but they’re as close as I’d get for a while.
In recent years Earth, Wind and Fire and Chicago have toured together. This rendition of “September” really captures my experience much better than either band separately.
As my thought process is prone to do, this reminds me of a song: “Why’d you have to go make things so complicated?”
That I’m bringing up an Avril Lavigne song here serves as testament to the depths of my ongoing musical conflict. Carry on.
Aerosmith.
I remember driving around listening to their music – the “Toys In The Attic” errmmm 8-track. LOL! I didn’t get to see them when I was younger, but I did get to see them earlier this summer. They were doing all of their old songs, so it was like the 70′s all over again. LOL!
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Discounting small folk artists in concerts at churches/halls and the like I have been to exactly three concerts in my life;
The first – The Cars. Totally awesome. At the old Spectrum in Philadelphia shortly after I learned to drive. My first foray into the city driving by myself.
#2 Meatloaf – A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. The very last concert at the old Spectrum in Philadelphia. He knows how to put on a show.
#3 Fleetwood Mac – long past their prime and it showed.
Oh, I have just remembered going to see some band called “Canned Heat” with my husband. I did not know of this group. They are from his era. We saw them in Hawaii. He loved them but I felt they, erm, sucked wind.
I just saw Chicago on The Chris Isaak Hour. They sung live, something you don’t get to see people do much these days.
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I think mine was Billy Joel… but I can’t be certain because large parts of the 70s were recorded over by my children with Barney reruns. I never had the pleasure? of seeing Earth, Wind and Chicago live.
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I LOVE Earth Wind and Fire (I have a couple of CDs in my car – and you should see how embarrassed I should be while rocking out to Serpentine Fire. I was a closet disco lover in high school (graduated in ’90 so no – disco had of yet to make it’s big comeback). But I went to college in New York where everything happens first. My first semester I peeled down a poster for the Village People who were playing at some club in the Village. And that was the night I came out of the closet. I let my roommate keep that poster. How stupid was that??
Oh – and my first concert was the Purple Rain tour when I was twelve. My Dad was able to get two tickets through work (he was in advertising and had a radio station client). Sadly that meant I had to go with him. But now I look back and see that he had his own trials. One of which would have been watching Sheila E. (who opened for Prince) simulate oral sex on a fan while standing next to his twelve year old daughter. Just another story for the scrap book….
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Believe it or not – my first concert was Amy Grant!! After that one – I was on a roll. I saw Billy Joel and Frank Sinatra!!
fun post!!!!!!!!
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That’s all excellent music! You have good tastes. “I Will Survive” is one of my favorites. That song played on my car radio as I was leaving my worthless first husband, no lie. I sang it loud and proud in my little Volkswagon Bug. I was rid of that fool forever. That’s brings back lots of memories.
Oh, wow. This question has really stumped me. I’m not sure what to classify as a “concert.” I saw The Boone family in concert when I was four. All I remember was Debbie Boone singing “You Light Up My Life.” If that doesn’t “count” (which I would completely understand if it didn’t really “count”), I would have to go through a laundry list of mediocre Christian rock bands before I would eventually come to U2, I think. And by that time I was already a mother. I guess I kind of never experienced the coming of age that is attending rock concerts. Unless, of course, you count all those Christian rock concerts. I don’t.
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EW&F — brings back so many high school memories. They were my then boyfriend’s fave band of all time. So we listened to them ALL.THE.TIME.
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I’ve always dug “September” and man I have got to get me some of those pants that the bass player is wearing, LOL. My first concert was AC/DC at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois, October of ’81.
Wil Harrison.com
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Great story. Having diverse musical tastes is a virtue in my opinion!
I too like EW&F. But my first concert was the Beach Boys, in the 70′s at Saratoga NY. I went with my aunt and uncle!
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My first concert? Jerry Lee Lewis and he was young! I’m old, sistah, but I loved it.
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OMG…Gloria Gaynor was soooo good and so was Earth Wind and Fire. Just awesome. September is one of my all time favorite songs.
Have a great MM.
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I got to see The Rolling Stones in concert. That was pretty cool.
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This has nothing to do specifically with this Musical Monday post (although Chicago is a slightly less embarrassing first concert than Nickelback…yay teenage me). I just needed to say that you have a fantastic voice. You’re dangerously easy to read and get lost in and I’ve found that since I stumbled upon your blog (yesterday) I’ve been thinking things in your written voice.
Is that weird?
Anyways, thanks for writing such cool things…
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Nice topic! I went to a Ted Nugent concert with some older friends in Ft.Worth when I was 14.
It’s embarassing, but Laurie, the super attractive drill team ‘captain’ girl I was going out with when I was 15 wanted me to go with her to an Air Supply concert at Six Flags Over Texas. She was driving, so I couldn’t say much.
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You TP’d in clogs?! You wild thing you.
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Every one of those songs is a part of my past!
Billy Joel “Uptown Girl” concert or the Police “Synchronicity.” Both were the same year…attended with the same boyfriend…but I can’t remember which came first. I’m pretty sure the Police concert was on Valentine’s day, 1984.
I remember All those songs and artist. I liked “Stairway to Heaven”. I dated a bass player and went to his concerts all the time. They would play that song. That was in the early 70′s so it was a most popular song for bands to play. I think we still have that album.
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My husband would crawl on broken glass to get to a Chicago concert. (shrug)
My first concert?
I will let you know.
Seriously. I’m 30 and haven’t ever been to a real concert. Hubby went to Dave Matthews a few months back, but I was home with a sick kid.
He’s the real DM fan, so I insisted he go.
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This is a wee bit embarrassing. It was a free Willie Nelson concert. And our styrofoam cooler broke all over the grass.
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Toys…toys….toys….IN THE ATTIC!
No, never saw them in concert, but I would have wanted to.
I’ve seen:
AC/DC Back in Black tour: these were the days when concerts were cheap and we just went. Nuff said. Very, very loud.
Rush: Louder than AC/DC if that is possible.
Styx: 3 times in a row–YAWN fest. Same exact concert all 3 years.
The Police: Synchronicity was the BEST EVER! And again, last year for the reunion concert. I was in hog heaven.
Sting: Fab. He’s HOT. Nice concerts always.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Back in the day before they were corporate music and you couldn’t understand them. One of the best concerts ever.
Journey, Bryan Adams, The Fix, REO Speedwagon, Foghat, Lyle Lovett….
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Margo – fun posting. My first concert was Led Zeppelin in 1970 – They opened with Immigrant Song and I thought my ears were bleeding it was so loud. I loved it.
Love Musical Mondays idea.
I am not sure, I think my first concert was Depeche Mode or U2…I did see The Jets once when I was a kid, but I don’t think that counts! ha!
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I think my first concert was The Police (Synchronicity tour).
But I really am commenting to tell you that I loved the line “would drive up and down the main drag of our narrow world.” Just right.
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