I’m up at an office conference upstate and been talking about music with my coworker, and I gotta say, I love that I’ve been to so many concerts. A lot of music reminds of growing up, high school (which I’m never going to get over) and I remember putting in the crazy effort to get to Madison Square Garden from NJ — we always had to get someone’s dad to drive us, we went through the ringer to get parental permission. Since this site is in part create to help preserve my ever-fading memory, here is my list of concerts that I can still recall.
* A-ha at Radio City Music Hall (I was 14, it was my first concert, and I danced in public for the first time in my life, which was an exhilirating experience. Some dude yelled at us to sit down and my friend Mike, spit fire even age 14, yelled at him to get a life. I so respect Mike. And I have reminisced with my friend Christine on having a crush on Pal, the guitarist, instead of Morten, b/c crushing on the lead singer is way too obvious. She actually was at the very same concert, which was another random, freaky thing we have in common.)
* Genesis, Invisible Touch tour, Giant stadium (yes, i waited in line at 6 a.m. for tickets in my pjs in junior high school)
* Peter Murphy at the Ritz
* The Jesus and Mary Chain at the Ritz
* The Pixies at the Ritz (the best concert ever. I will never forget looking around at the audience. People were smiling, bobbing their heads along to “Dead.” The t-shirts said “Death to the Pixies.” When my best friend Alex wore it to school, our principal Mike Reilly approached her “So you don’t like little people.” Poor mike Reilly. He meant well. He used to hand out pens that said “Make your life extraordinary.” Futile pope, fultile.)
* The Ramones at the Ritz (Dude, I almost got killed in the mosh pit, it was so rough. I still recall Melanie Firore’s expression of distress as she got sucked in the undertow and stomped on. People, it is not fun to be stomped on and I wore
a skirt to that concert!!!)
* Indigo Girls and R.E.M. at Madison Square Garden (I listened to R.E.M. obsessively in high school. We played Life’s Rich Pageant incessantly, but today, I can’t stand them — apologies to Tony. It was music of time, and I just can’t go back.)
* U2 at Giant Stadium, Joshua Tree tour. (What a band. Bono is an amazing performer.)
* The Depeche Mode/Jesus and Mary Chain/Nitzer Ebb concert at Giant Stadium (I danced my arse off on top of chairs.)
* Sting on that black and white cover solo album tour, Madison Square Garden. (He’s hot. He’s fifty, and he’s still hot.)
* The first Lollapalooza. (I have no idea who played. Can’t remember for the life of me.)
* The McKrells. (An Irish music band playing at my office conference)
* Fiona Apple at Roseland. (This was the concert where she had a public meltdown. She said “You f*ng critics, if you f*ng f* me, I will f*ng kill you,” as she wept through songs. Briefly, as we stood there, I flashbacked to my youth when I used to go to concerts, until my lower back started to ache. I’m old, girl.)
* Jesus Jones, The Sundays, Hippie Chicks, and other one-hit wonders at Toad’s in New Haven. Seen the Sundays at some bar in NYC the year before.
* Cocteau Twins at the Roxy
BTW, have I told of my efforts to stalk said band member in the Soho? He frequents a restuarant that a friend works at. She texts me whenever he shows up. Sadly, I always arrive too late.
Which member? I’ve seen Michael Stipe several times in the Meatpacking District, and he’s very tiny with pretty blue eyes. Oh Michael.
THE member of the kings of scandinavia pop.
oh wait a minute, I’m lame, sorry the SACHS makes me think Tony not Christine. Girl, I know what Soho member you’re talking about. The one every intelligent girl has crushed on. Does he still look well? I’m scared of aging pop stars.
I haven’t seen him in RL. The pics…well, let’s just say he’s not as vain as the other two.
Does he still have his hair? God, it’s said when the rock stars start aging. 🙁 He’s still thin right? He was rail-thin in their Radio City days.
I was at the first Lollapalooza too! And like you, I have no memory of who played. All I remember was that it was so dang hot. Did I really pay all that money to have heat stroke? Yes, I did.
OK, if memory serves, the first Lollapalooza featured Jane’s Addiction, Siouxsie, Living Colour (awww yeah), Nine Inch Nails, and, um, others. Don’t know why I remember that since I didn’t even attend. I WAS at the second one, which had RHCP, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Lush, Ministry, Ice Cube, and maybe a couple of others too. That one rocked. And after the whole extravaganza was done, I went to Nightingale’s with my friend Ariel to see the mediocre formerly semi-legendary white funk band The Authority. Ah, to be young again….
Oh my god, now I remember the line-up. I wish I could remember Siouxie! That stinks! Who is Living Colour? Is that the African American group who dressed up like Segeart Lonely Hearts Band? The second one sounds like a world away. I do remember Jane’s Addiction and running into people from my high school. Very dramatic. Sung-Ji, where did you see it? I think I went to Woodstock with my friend Alex? Is that possible?
My Dad drove us to R.E.M.
He did? That was so nice of him — that was the show where the Indigo Girls opened. That’s amazing. I think my dad drove us to see Sting at Madison Square Garden and Poppi Kramer forgot her ticket when we were well on our way and we turned around. I don’t remember if you were there? Alex was there, b/c she was wearing suspenders. These random things I remember.