First Concert

First Concert....no laughing now....New Kids on the Block....I'm completely serious....the next concert I saw was Metallica.....that's what lit the drumming fire in me...before that show, I wanted to play guitar.....

My first big concert was Alice Cooper's 'Trash Tour' with Eric Singer on drums, then later on I got to see KISS when they still had some spark left. The concert that really changed things for me was Sting's 'Mercury Falling Tour'. That was the first time I saw Vinnie play live and I was totally amazed by his playing, the grooves were so fat and juicy it was just incredible. [img]cool.gif[/img]
[img]eek.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Well my Father is a drummer too, so i was put to great koncerts at a very young age. when i was Three years old, i saw John Scofield with his Blue Matter group ( Dennis Chambers, Garry Grainger, Jim Beard ), And Koinonia ( Greg Mathieson, Bill Maxwell, Alex Acuna, Abraham Laboriel, Husto Almario and Mike Landau ). I can't really remember those concerts - A Couple of years later i saw Little Feat live, and they just blew me away, gave me a whole new approach to music.

But one of the most influental concerts were a very intimate concert with Mike Stern, at a jazz club, with only like 75 seats or so. Was Mike Stern on Guitar, Lionel Carew on Drums, Chris Minh Doky on Bass ( Go Denmark! [img]biggrin.gif[/img] ) and a extremely talented and wonderfull tenor saxophonist called Bob Fransescini. That Concert was just wonderfull!

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 11, 2004 03:13 PM: Message edited by: Klemme ]</font>

Don't laugh, very young mind you, but I remember seeing the Beach Boys at the Hollywood Bowl. I needed to be Dennis Wilson for a long time after that. Then, I saw the Rascals at the same venue in '67. I've never shaken the influence inspired by Dino Danelli.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 11, 2004 04:09 PM: Message edited by: piccupstix ]</font>

1978, TOTO was my first concert.

Atlantic City, THE POLICE on the Syncronicity tour. I was in 6th grade. I don't remember much of it and I was already way into drumming by then.
Then Pat Benatar at the Spectrum in Philadelphia (friend had tix) followed by Rush on their next 4 tours at the Spectrum as well.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 11, 2004 04:05 PM: Message edited by: Steve Holmes ]</font>

KISS in 1983 on the Creatures of the night tour. I was playing the guitar back then but I found it pretty cool when they were shooting the loudspeakers from the drumkit which was placed on top on a big army tank (the stage actually!) [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Then it would have been OZZY also in 83 but my father found my tix and stopped me [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img] . It was a big deal back then cause everybody was saying that Satan was in town and that he was doing human sacifices and eating bats on stage.

Then Iron Maiden Powerslave tour. I then switched to drums. Nicko was the man. Anyway I always wanted to play drums first but my father said why don't you try the guitar (= less noise in the house [img]mad.gif[/img] )

1st: Foreigner [w Denis Elliot on kit]& Gamma
2nd: Journey [Aynsley Dunbar on kit] & Montrose [i believe Stv Smith was the drummer in Montrose , right b4 he joined Jrny, unbeknownst to me at the time]
3rd: Van Halen
4th: Doobie Bros. & [Louisiana-] LeRoux [Dave Peters on kit]
5th: Rush [& it was "all OVER" after that]

I went to see the "Superbowl of R&R" in Orlando; Foreigner, Ozzy, UFO, Bryan Adams, & a couple of others...but Randy Rhoads was killed in that plane crash just b4, so Pat Travers filled in 4 Oz [unfortunately, I think Aldridge was already gone by this time]...

Then, I saw the Stv Morse Band [Rod, Jerry Peek], then Vital Info, then Jean Luc Ponty w CScheuerell [& later w SEmory], Stanley Clarke Band [w RGriffin]& then Peter Erskine in clinic, Cobham in clinic, & Vinnie in clinic w TLanders in '84, & the CCEB1 trio [CC, JP, DW], '85 [b4 the 1st album came out] - & it was REALLY all over aft that....

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 12, 2004 04:15 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

When I saw the following concerts I had a snare drum and sticks but didn't play a proper kit yet. These cats got me on my way.

The first concert I ever saw was Led Zeppelin on 8-4-69 in a venue that typically hosted rodeos in Dallas. Four bucks for standing room only tickets that were the same as those tickets sold at carnivals to ride rides. Robert Plant was wearing the same $1.99 tennis shoes I had on and would talk occasionally to this very fat man on the side of the stage. When Page bent over his Danelectro to play White Summer his hair brushed his knees and his face was totally obscured. Bonzo wore a muscle shirt (before everybody called them tank tops) and played a drum solo with his hands, then slipped off his loafers and did a quick roll with his feet on his snare. Swear to God! This was not Moby Dick, Led Zep II wouldn't be released for three or four more months.

In January 1970 I saw Grand Funk Railroad; was blown away by Don Brewer playing TNUC (spell that backwards) for 15 minutes. He even did that sthick Floyd Sneed used to do---pretending to slam his head into a rack tom but playing the note on his bass drum.

In May 1970 Jimi Hendrix came to Fort Worth and I got to sit on the front row, far stage right. Before the gig I watched the roadies nailing Mitch Mitchell's purple bass drums to the stage (no front heads) so they wouldn't creep forward. He played a great roll with his feet during a fill and I remember that lick better than anything Hendrix did.

Later in the year Ten Years After played at SMU and I crawled up on the stage for the show. I didn't notice Ric Lee much on the drums, just the bass player taping up his right forefinger before every single song. Alvin Lee kept staring at my friend's sister. She was hot!

1st concert I saw that touched me deeeep...

- Jean Luc Ponty in 1982 with Rayford Griffin on drums... That night confirmed I needed to be a drummer... I was seated on the 2nd row too... One of those magical moments you never forget. I was 14 years old then.

First concert was a "big" stadium show in Sacramento. Thin Lizzy, The Cars, Journey, and Marshall Tucker Band. This was in 1976 and Ansley was on drums for Journey.

After that, it was Pablo Cruis, then Toto for the Hyrda tour. I went to see Toto because I was CONVINCED the drummer was using double kick on Hold The Line. I was so shocked to see one kick drum, and even more blown away to hear Jeff play it. After that show, I became a Jeff diehard.

Danny

I was a Lizzy Jailbreak era fan [Brian Downey, dr.]...

...I never got to see Tony, Jeff, Carlos, or Bonzo live [img]frown.gif[/img] ...
I was gigging OOT when Tony came with Virgil, Dennis, & others in the superclinic ['late '96, early '97 time period]...
...Zep came here to the old stadium, but there was a thunderstorm & they failed to go on, & a riot ensued...i wouldve been there, but i was young & my folks wouldnt let me go...just as well, because Zep never went on, & the riot was a mess, ending concerts there for many many yrs [until the Eagles long aft - "mellower" crowd, compared to LZ, is my guess [img]wink.gif[/img] ]...
...Elvin was here a yr. ago, & i didnt attend [img]eek.gif[/img] ...hope i get another chance...

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 11, 2004 11:55 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

What was your first concert you saw LIVE? or What concert lit the drum fire inside?

For myself, it was KISS at Magic Mountain where they filmed that aweful flic they made. As a young teenager, Peter Criss was great because his drums were big and looked cool.

Most influential gig? Journey at one of those huge festival concerts. Smith did a solo that changed my mind of what drumming is and can be. I had never heard anything like I did that night during his solo. It was the reason I started to explore music outside of straight 4/4 time found in pop music.

First concert was Blood Sweat and Tears right after their second album, Long Beach Arena, CA, Bobby Columby on drums (big influence). They were the first "pop" band that caught my attention. Up to that point I couldn't stand anything that wasn't classical or jazz (weird little kid).

Second big one for me was Chicago right after the second album. Hollywood bowl. Danny Seraphine did a great solo and I knew some day I had to be on that stage.

Other notable concerts growing up were Buddy Rich several times, Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Peter Gabriel (with Jerry Marrota on drums).

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 12, 2004 01:01 PM: Message edited by: Andy Vermiglio ]</font>

My Dad used to be a concert promoter when i was a baby.
He claims that Pink Floyd was my first concert.

But Kiss then the next night Johnny Cash then the next night Bobby Vinton at The Regina Exhibition Park in 77 or 78.

What got me into drums forever.....................


David Bowie's Serious Moonlight Tour('84) w. the Tubes and Peter Gabriel(one of the Marotta's was in the drum seat for Gabriel),but it was.......Tony Thompson in Bowie's band that really got me dreaming and influenced my life.

That was my 'seeing Ringo&the Beatles on Ed Sullivan' moment with drums. Really havent been the same since.

Oh i think these 'firsts' also guided me further:

First drum teacher:Corey Taylor
First Drum Clinic:the great Peter Erskine
First Masterclass:Jack Mouse
and the very first concert i ever played in......................................i think thats it..............beats

That would have been Jerry Marrota, he was Gabriels drummer for many years until the So record.

Yes!!! Jerry Marotta!
Thanx Randy,that was startin to bug me.......................................beats.

My first concert was Marillion at the Edinburgh Playhouse, December 18th 1987. I was 13 and I think that's when the drumming bug really got me.