Concerts that really were fun for us old guys

[Mike Eskimo]

Fun old gigs ?

Haydn and Mozart.
Forget who the opener was - Schubert ?

Year ? Uh…’87-ish ?

I’m totally spacing on that but the parking lot scene was pretty ferocious so I can’t recall too much of this one…

 

[Vibroluxer]

Mine wasn't a great show but it was unforgettable.

I was 21 and my younger sister loved Duran Duran and begged me to take her to the February '84 show on Pittsburgh. Other than the fact there were tens of thousands of young girls in mini skirts running around the show completely sucked! Yeah I knew most of the songs and no I wasn't really a big fan but the thing that sucked was the sound system. Every time they stopped playing there was lives squealing feedback and just ripped through my brain.

During the show however we got 6 in of snow! When we went out after the show my sister and her five friends and I spent the next two hours helping all of the other cars out of the parking lot. We were in a suburban and I wasn't worried about driving in that kind of weather. So after the show was done everybody was gone except for one little Datsun pickup truck and there were three adults and one 10 year old kid. I started talking to them because they were also helping push people out of the snow and ask them where they were from. They were from Philly and we're out of money after buying DD shirts. And it was a badass night in Pittsburgh. There was no way they were going to drive with two people in the cab and two people in the bed across this large state of Pennsylvania so I did what any 21-year-old would do: I called my parents and told them I was bringing home four strangers!! They weren't too happy but they trusted my judgment and I had a really good feeling about these guys. I mean who drives for 5 hours to see a Durand Duran concerts and going to murder people in their sleep?

Well they came home and there were no issues and to this day my family still talks about how nice of a guy I was then and wonder what's happened to me since!

 

[teleman1]

I'll just say Ziggy Stardust, Mountain, and Rundgren.

 

[Doctorx33]

Too many to list. In the seventies tickets for major arena acts were $5.50-$6.50.

June 1973. On the Eve of my 18th birthday, about of us piled into a van and headed 75 miles to Detroit to see Deep Purple at Cobo arena.
We walked in and the stage was empty. Eventually someone came on the house PA that the truck with all the gear had broken down.
So we got high and waited. Around ten pm roadies started coming in with a gear, about quarter of 11 ZZ Top came out as the backup band. So they played about 30-40 minutes, then another 30 minutes to setup for DP. They came on about 11:15 and boy, were we ready. They opened with Highway Star and everyone went nuts.
I got home about 2:30 and before going in the house I went over the night in my head and it occurred to me that as of midnight I was legally allowed to drink, but didn’t have a chance to get a beer due to what went down. The irony made me laugh.

 

[DekeDog]

In two outdoor concerts in Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, NC, in back-to-back years in the early '70s, I saw the Marshall Tucker Band, Allman Brothers (twice), Elvin Bishop, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Dr. John, Wet Willie, and a couple of other bands long since erased from my mental hard drive.

The bands I saw in the '70s are just too numerous for me to remember them all.

 

[hanktx]

This had been a fun thread to read through and seeing a lot of bands, tours and venues I've also seen over the years. And like others, there are way too many to mention but, here are a few that come to mind. It's also a a reminder how fortunate it was to catch these shows when I did.

Allman Brothers with Dickie Betts (Greek Theater, LA)
Steve Howe for a solo acoustic set (Blind Pig, Houston)
Kenny Burrell (Catalina's, LA)
Danny Gatton (Caravan of Dreams, Ft. Worth)
Robben Ford with Jimmy Witherspoon (The Mint, LA)
Original Meters with Leo Nocentelli, George Porter, Jr and Ziggy Modeliste (The Mint, LA)
Ray Charles (Waterloo Park, Austin)
Buddy Guy (Antones, Austin)

The Buddy Guy show was also memorable for a lot of other reasons. Buddy used to walk and dance out into the audience while he played. On this occasion he played/walked over to a door and proceeded to kick it open - which happened to be the women's restroom. Almost in unison, the stall doors flew open, the women emerged and once they saw Buddy, started gooving to the music. It was surreal.

But that wasn't all. Our group had been drinking steadily that evening including my friend's father - who was in his early 70s at the time. Keeping in mind that this was right after 9/11, I looked over and saw his father wobble a bit and then hit the deck - hard. Anyone who saw it, thought he had died.

Buddy saw it too, stopped playing and announced something to the effect of "We have a 911 in the house. Is there a doctor in the house?" (Turns out there was). But then Buddy said "Speaking of 9-1-1..." and then went on a profanity laced musing on the recent events in NYC. Again, surreal.

Fast forward. The paramedics arrived and carted my friend's dad to the ambulance waiting out front of the venue. The ambulance doors were open while the EMTs did their work while my friend and I stood behind watching and hoping all was OK. Who walked by as we stood there? Jimmy Vaughan. He expressed concern and hoped for the best. We nodded in appreciation and off he went.

As it was, his Dad was OK. Scotch and new BP meds were not in agreement and after some time and embarassment, he kept on going for several more years. That wasn't the last time I saw Buddy Guy or Jimmy Vaughan but it was the absolutely the most memorable.

 

[Silent Otto]

"fun", you say?
The Beat Farmers, every single time

 

[jhull54]

Some of the most fun shows I've seen.

Journey (w/Rolie)/the Babys 1980
Queen (Game tour. Tickets were $9.50, which was a high price in those days.)
Rush (Moving Pictures)
Ramones (many times). Best show was when Jason and the Scorchers opened for them in 1983.
Eric Johnson (Acoustic set. Incredible.)
Roky Erickson
Charlie Sexton (Leading his own band at 15--Little Charlie and the Eager Beaver Boys)
KISS (3 different decades. All the shows were a hoot.)
Husker Du (Warehouse tour)
Van Halen (1984 tour)

Too many to list, so I'll stop there.

 

[posttoastie]

Neil Young and Crazy Horse April 25, 2024 at San Diego State. Oh, sorry that's where I'm going tomorrow.

 

[Jim W]

Most of them. Pure Prairie League (with Craig Fuller) was different, great concert but got a call from a lady which was way more fun after the concert.