My life in concert
My post about the Depeche Mode showinspired Rigby, now her post has inspired me. (Note: I will add photos later.)
Must have been some kind of kiss, I should have walked away
My first concert ever was at the Regina Centre of the Arts in Regina, Saskatchewan sometime in 1987. My friend Nicole's mom worked for CHAB, the radio station in Moose Jaw, and had tickets to the Cutting Crew, so she took Nicole and me. We were 12, and I thought this was the pinnacle of my preteen experience.
Yeah, I know. You have no idea who they are. Well, they weren't exactly a one-hit wonder, they had hits such as "I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight," and "I've Been in Love Before" - okay, I guess that makes them a two-hit wonder. Still not clueing in? Ah, forget it.
I'm a low brow but I rock a little know how
Then for five long years I didn't see another concert again until my 17th birthday when my parents bought me tickets to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was sooo excited. My best friend, Dawn and I were huge fans and were practically known throughout our high school by our love of RHCP. We had the Rolling Stone cover with them on it in our locker. LOVED them.
So we saw them in February of 1992 at the Forum during their tour for Blood, Sugar, Sex Magik. During the opening act Dawn and I got separated in the mosh pit and I was right up against the gates at the front. I had a perfect view of Flea, and I swore he stuck his tongue out at me. I ended up next to a guy from my school in the mosh pit, got my foot trampled on and lost my shoe in the chaos. It was a great time! They didn't get naked and wear socks like they were known to, and I was a bit disappointed about that, but overall it was a great show. Some girl even gave me my shoe that she'd found on the ground afterwards!
No Diggity, No Doubt
Then another long period of non-concert activity. In 1997, my sister and I decided to go see New Edition's Home Again Tour in Seattle's Key Arena. Aside from feeling sorry for the poor dude sitting next to me who was apparently alone and who kept leaving and coming back with food (he never said a word, but kept offering me some of his licorice!) we had a really good time. Blackstreet opened the show, and I screamed my head off for Chauncey, then Teddy Riley ran down the side of the arena and I reached out and skimmed his bald head with my hand!
New Edition was really fun, and my sister was a fun concert date, especially considering this was during a period that Pre-Hubby and I were broken up (again). It was also a great excuse to wear my favourite black patent-leather pants! We spent the whole show getting down in the stands and having a great time. We had gone with the intent that we were going to scream like silly schoolgirls, and we did. When New Edition hit the stage, I screamed, "I LOVE YOU BOBBY!!" And screamed even louder when Bobby mooned his ass to the crowd. This was also shortly before New Edition imploded with all the apparent infighting that went on between them, as my friend Tyson saw them shortly afterward in Vegas and said they took the stage an hour and a half late because they were reportedly fighting with each other backstage!
Although I owned both Blackstreet and New Edition's albums at the time, I can't say it was my favourite show ever. It was just fun. And afterwards, being the only two white chicks in a Denny's at 3am in Seattle was a hilarious experience.
We've Got It Goin' On
In 2001, Shelley, her sister Lindsay, and Sheri and I all decided to go to the Backstreet Boys show. We knew we were losers, and we didn't care. Like I did for the New Edition show, we said we were going to scream like little schoolgirls and we did. We each had our favourite Boy and when they came out and the teeny-bopper screaming started, I screeched, "I LOVE YOU KEVIN!!" and nearly caused the 12-year-old girls sitting in front of us with their mom to pee themselves.
That show was pretty good, considering we all felt like cougars compared to the other concertgoers. We didn't care, though. We were just there for a good time and to have a night to act like pre-pubescent, starry-eyed Backstreet fans. (Ironically, when I was preparing to go to the Blackstreet/New Edition show 4 years before, one of the lawyers at the firm I worked at kept saying I was going to see "Backstreet" and I had to keep correcting him.)
We spent the rest of the show laughing and screaming, and I was literally hoarse for the next two days. Losers, yes. But happy losers.
Say my name, say my name
Also in 2001 I had my first "just-'cause-you're-my-friend" concert attendance. Shelley wanted to see Destiny's Child really bad, and I said I wouldn't spend money to see them. She called me up one day, and cheerily sang, "Happy Birthday!" I said, "My birthday was months ago." She said, "I know, but I got you an early present for next year. You're going to Destiny's Child with me! Yay!" It was so funny!
To her credit, Shelley didn't pick such a bad show. I went with a skeptical mind, but I have to say it was pretty good. It was very much a "girl power" show, with thousands of females singing, "I'm a surivor, I'm not gonna give up, I'm not gon' stop, I'm a surivior!" And while that was kind of corny, I have to admit I gained some respect for Beyonce that night. She works hard at putting on a good performance. And I got a little teary near the end there when they sang "Emotion."
Chances are, 'cause I wear a silly grin, the moment you come into view
Last November Ginny and I went to see Johnny Mathis. I can't even describe how much I love Johnny Mathis. My parents used to play his music when we were kids, and now it just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I listen to songs like "Chances Are."
This show was at the Paramount in Seattle, which is my favourite concert venue ever. It is such a gorgeous theatre. (I was intensely jealous when Carly and Clay went to see Audioslave at the Paramount months later. I can't imagine how amazing that would have been.) Even though Ginny and I were by far the youngest audience members there (by about 20 years) we had a great time, and we were right near the front of the stage. Johnny was so humble, friendly and happy the whole time, he chatted kindly between songs, and his voice was just perfect - even though he must be in his 50s or 60s by now! He even smiled as he sang every song. Definately a great night.
I've had you so many times but somehow I want more
I discovered my love for Maroon 5 while listening to my station on launch.com (now just Yahoo Music.) I looked up Maroon 5's website, and lo and behold, they were coming to Vancouver! I emailed Carly and asked if she'd go with me, to which I distinctly remember her responding, "I'm always up for a show." She said Kelly liked Maroon 5 too, so the three of us went.
This one was at the Plaza of Nations, which was a cool place to enjoy a show, but we spent most of it in the beer gardens chatting. I heard all the songs I wanted to hear, and Kelly and I got our glimpses of Adam Levine, and giggled over that while Carly rolled her eyes with disgust.
(There is, however, one memory relating to this show that doesn't have anything to do with Maroon 5 but will always stay with me whenever I think of that day. It was July 11, 2004, the first birthday of my friend Janet's son, Andrew. He was terminally ill and we celebrated the little guy's first birthday at Canuck Place. I left the party for the concert knowing I might not see Andrew again. And sadly, I didn't - this sweet little boy passed away shortly afterward on July 27.)
That brings me up to this year. This year I started going to a lot of shows because of something my friend Rocket said: "I love concerts, and if there's one I want to go to, I'll just do it. You just make it happen, and work it into your life." That got me thinking, and I decided that if there was a show I wanted to see, I would just go. So since I knew Oasis was coming, I told him I wanted to go. And he hooked us up with tickets, and off we went. I won't re-hash that show because I detailed it on my blog already.) The only thing I regret about that show was that we intentionally skipped the opener, Kasabian, and ended up missing the other opener, Jet, as well. I have since developed a love for Kasabian and now wish we would have seen them, and by all the rave reviews of Jet and judging by the great show they were finishing up as we arrived, we should have gotten there in time for them, too.
A couple other shows I've seen this year:
July: Beck - Queen Elizabeth Theatre, with my sister Amy. Two thumbs up. He rocks. Had such a good time.
September: Jimmy Eat World/GreenDay - GM Place, with Rigby. JEW - Two big thumbs up. Good, clean fun. Read more here. GreenDay - two words: Arrested Development. Left about four songs in.
September: Audioslave - GM Place, with Rigby, Clay, and Rigby's friend Jason. AMAZING. Developed a love for Rage Against the Machine. Great fun.
November: Depeche Mode - GM Place, with Hubby. Fulfilled my teenage fantasies. Everything I'd hoped it would be. As I said, now I can check off something on my things to do before I die list.
November: Gwen Stefani - GM Place, with Shelley. I'll let you know! Tomorrow night! YAY!
I'd like to do a list of other bands I'd like to see before I die, but I'll leave that for another post.
Must have been some kind of kiss, I should have walked away
My first concert ever was at the Regina Centre of the Arts in Regina, Saskatchewan sometime in 1987. My friend Nicole's mom worked for CHAB, the radio station in Moose Jaw, and had tickets to the Cutting Crew, so she took Nicole and me. We were 12, and I thought this was the pinnacle of my preteen experience.
Yeah, I know. You have no idea who they are. Well, they weren't exactly a one-hit wonder, they had hits such as "I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight," and "I've Been in Love Before" - okay, I guess that makes them a two-hit wonder. Still not clueing in? Ah, forget it.
I'm a low brow but I rock a little know how
Then for five long years I didn't see another concert again until my 17th birthday when my parents bought me tickets to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was sooo excited. My best friend, Dawn and I were huge fans and were practically known throughout our high school by our love of RHCP. We had the Rolling Stone cover with them on it in our locker. LOVED them.
So we saw them in February of 1992 at the Forum during their tour for Blood, Sugar, Sex Magik. During the opening act Dawn and I got separated in the mosh pit and I was right up against the gates at the front. I had a perfect view of Flea, and I swore he stuck his tongue out at me. I ended up next to a guy from my school in the mosh pit, got my foot trampled on and lost my shoe in the chaos. It was a great time! They didn't get naked and wear socks like they were known to, and I was a bit disappointed about that, but overall it was a great show. Some girl even gave me my shoe that she'd found on the ground afterwards!
No Diggity, No Doubt
Then another long period of non-concert activity. In 1997, my sister and I decided to go see New Edition's Home Again Tour in Seattle's Key Arena. Aside from feeling sorry for the poor dude sitting next to me who was apparently alone and who kept leaving and coming back with food (he never said a word, but kept offering me some of his licorice!) we had a really good time. Blackstreet opened the show, and I screamed my head off for Chauncey, then Teddy Riley ran down the side of the arena and I reached out and skimmed his bald head with my hand!
New Edition was really fun, and my sister was a fun concert date, especially considering this was during a period that Pre-Hubby and I were broken up (again). It was also a great excuse to wear my favourite black patent-leather pants! We spent the whole show getting down in the stands and having a great time. We had gone with the intent that we were going to scream like silly schoolgirls, and we did. When New Edition hit the stage, I screamed, "I LOVE YOU BOBBY!!" And screamed even louder when Bobby mooned his ass to the crowd. This was also shortly before New Edition imploded with all the apparent infighting that went on between them, as my friend Tyson saw them shortly afterward in Vegas and said they took the stage an hour and a half late because they were reportedly fighting with each other backstage!
Although I owned both Blackstreet and New Edition's albums at the time, I can't say it was my favourite show ever. It was just fun. And afterwards, being the only two white chicks in a Denny's at 3am in Seattle was a hilarious experience.
We've Got It Goin' On
In 2001, Shelley, her sister Lindsay, and Sheri and I all decided to go to the Backstreet Boys show. We knew we were losers, and we didn't care. Like I did for the New Edition show, we said we were going to scream like little schoolgirls and we did. We each had our favourite Boy and when they came out and the teeny-bopper screaming started, I screeched, "I LOVE YOU KEVIN!!" and nearly caused the 12-year-old girls sitting in front of us with their mom to pee themselves.
That show was pretty good, considering we all felt like cougars compared to the other concertgoers. We didn't care, though. We were just there for a good time and to have a night to act like pre-pubescent, starry-eyed Backstreet fans. (Ironically, when I was preparing to go to the Blackstreet/New Edition show 4 years before, one of the lawyers at the firm I worked at kept saying I was going to see "Backstreet" and I had to keep correcting him.)
We spent the rest of the show laughing and screaming, and I was literally hoarse for the next two days. Losers, yes. But happy losers.
Say my name, say my name
Also in 2001 I had my first "just-'cause-you're-my-friend" concert attendance. Shelley wanted to see Destiny's Child really bad, and I said I wouldn't spend money to see them. She called me up one day, and cheerily sang, "Happy Birthday!" I said, "My birthday was months ago." She said, "I know, but I got you an early present for next year. You're going to Destiny's Child with me! Yay!" It was so funny!
To her credit, Shelley didn't pick such a bad show. I went with a skeptical mind, but I have to say it was pretty good. It was very much a "girl power" show, with thousands of females singing, "I'm a surivor, I'm not gonna give up, I'm not gon' stop, I'm a surivior!" And while that was kind of corny, I have to admit I gained some respect for Beyonce that night. She works hard at putting on a good performance. And I got a little teary near the end there when they sang "Emotion."
Chances are, 'cause I wear a silly grin, the moment you come into view
Last November Ginny and I went to see Johnny Mathis. I can't even describe how much I love Johnny Mathis. My parents used to play his music when we were kids, and now it just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I listen to songs like "Chances Are."
This show was at the Paramount in Seattle, which is my favourite concert venue ever. It is such a gorgeous theatre. (I was intensely jealous when Carly and Clay went to see Audioslave at the Paramount months later. I can't imagine how amazing that would have been.) Even though Ginny and I were by far the youngest audience members there (by about 20 years) we had a great time, and we were right near the front of the stage. Johnny was so humble, friendly and happy the whole time, he chatted kindly between songs, and his voice was just perfect - even though he must be in his 50s or 60s by now! He even smiled as he sang every song. Definately a great night.
I've had you so many times but somehow I want more
I discovered my love for Maroon 5 while listening to my station on launch.com (now just Yahoo Music.) I looked up Maroon 5's website, and lo and behold, they were coming to Vancouver! I emailed Carly and asked if she'd go with me, to which I distinctly remember her responding, "I'm always up for a show." She said Kelly liked Maroon 5 too, so the three of us went.
This one was at the Plaza of Nations, which was a cool place to enjoy a show, but we spent most of it in the beer gardens chatting. I heard all the songs I wanted to hear, and Kelly and I got our glimpses of Adam Levine, and giggled over that while Carly rolled her eyes with disgust.
(There is, however, one memory relating to this show that doesn't have anything to do with Maroon 5 but will always stay with me whenever I think of that day. It was July 11, 2004, the first birthday of my friend Janet's son, Andrew. He was terminally ill and we celebrated the little guy's first birthday at Canuck Place. I left the party for the concert knowing I might not see Andrew again. And sadly, I didn't - this sweet little boy passed away shortly afterward on July 27.)
That brings me up to this year. This year I started going to a lot of shows because of something my friend Rocket said: "I love concerts, and if there's one I want to go to, I'll just do it. You just make it happen, and work it into your life." That got me thinking, and I decided that if there was a show I wanted to see, I would just go. So since I knew Oasis was coming, I told him I wanted to go. And he hooked us up with tickets, and off we went. I won't re-hash that show because I detailed it on my blog already.) The only thing I regret about that show was that we intentionally skipped the opener, Kasabian, and ended up missing the other opener, Jet, as well. I have since developed a love for Kasabian and now wish we would have seen them, and by all the rave reviews of Jet and judging by the great show they were finishing up as we arrived, we should have gotten there in time for them, too.
A couple other shows I've seen this year:
July: Beck - Queen Elizabeth Theatre, with my sister Amy. Two thumbs up. He rocks. Had such a good time.
September: Jimmy Eat World/GreenDay - GM Place, with Rigby. JEW - Two big thumbs up. Good, clean fun. Read more here. GreenDay - two words: Arrested Development. Left about four songs in.
September: Audioslave - GM Place, with Rigby, Clay, and Rigby's friend Jason. AMAZING. Developed a love for Rage Against the Machine. Great fun.
November: Depeche Mode - GM Place, with Hubby. Fulfilled my teenage fantasies. Everything I'd hoped it would be. As I said, now I can check off something on my things to do before I die list.
November: Gwen Stefani - GM Place, with Shelley. I'll let you know! Tomorrow night! YAY!
I'd like to do a list of other bands I'd like to see before I die, but I'll leave that for another post.
I have so many comments. This was a great post!
#1 - Reading the rehash of the NE/Blackstreet concert brought back great memories!! But it wasn't Teddy's head we touched it was his bare chest!!! Remember, he ran by us and we reached out to touch... I can still taste the Moons Over My Hammy.
#2 - I am so jealous that you saw Backstreet Boys. If they come again someday I will have to go just to fulfill my version of the Depeche Mode thing of yours.
#3 - Sweet Johnny Mathis...I have it written on my calendar the day it was, one year ago, that we went...November 11!! I celebrated the anniversary by listening to his Christmas album. I really need some fresh hobbies.
#4 - Hello!!?! What about the AWESOME Shawn Desman concert we went to at the Abbey Arts Center in the Abb??!!! As if we didn't scream like giddy schoolgirls (like the ones that surrounded us) and danced like fools ...and remember how we threw a couple elbows to get up close in the stampede?? Good times!
Posted by
Anonymous |
4:42 PM
Wasn't that a great post to write? I loved working on mine. It all just came flooding back!
I, too, was wondering why you ahdn't mentioned Shawn Desman. Didn't think you were going to get away with that, did you?
And yes, it's my mission to be with you at the Commodore the first time you step foot inside.
Posted by
QueenieCarly |
2:07 AM
WTF? Where the hell are you? Did you run off as a Harajuku girl? (Or whatever they're called.)
Posted by
QueenieCarly |
4:58 PM
I'll never forget my first time at a concert with Rebecca. That was way too funny, when you and I wanted to jump up and down and scream like little twinkies. And then when we joined the other...what, dozen or so people that were old enough to be in the beer garden? The beauty of the Commodore is NO MINORS!
Posted by
Anonymous |
11:07 AM
I wish I could do a post like this. I'd be laughed right off my blog :D
Posted by
Toni |
12:00 PM
Yeah, I forgot Shawn Desman. Obviously you guys won't let me get away with that! I'll do that review sometime too!
Posted by
Bex |
4:06 PM