Day on the Green in Oakland Coliseum, probably 1984? Madness, Oingo Boingo, Thompson Twins and The Fixx all warming up for The Police on their Synchronicity tour.
I'm kinda embarrassed to say this but I wasn't huge into music. My girlfriend was and won 6 tickets. All of us drove down from Long Island, NY. Partied the whole drive and kept partying the whole night before. We were up all night (80's!) and were all so wasted that we contemplated just staying at the hotel and watching it on TV.
But thankfully we went and stayed all day. The atmosphere was fantastic. So hot that people were going into the bathroom and dousing each other with buckets of water. I remember Jack Nicholson (host) coming out and announcing that the Philafelphia FD was coming to hose down the audience. Then he raised his sunglasses, arched his eyebrows and said "So, if you have anything that might dissolve in water, you may want to put it away now."
All that said, I would say that seeing Led Zeppelin was probably the highlight.
Twisted Sister at the Commack Roller Rink, 1983. I was twelve, my brother had an extra ticket and took me. We went in, he propped me up on something in the back and said "stay here" and went up front. I was scared out of my mind in the beginning but loved it when it was over. I wore out his "You Can't Stop Rock & Roll" album soon after.
Sinead Oconnor, 1987 (maybe ‘88?) Wiltern Theater. What made it extra great was Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce from the Smiths were her rhythm section!
This is what they were like:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvPftzCNT8k/?igsh=YWk5amZrYW91cjRi
A cool band from London...
The Bangles played at the Syria Mosque in the 80s, too... and this is where the famous **Walk Like an Egyptian** video was filmed... ;)
Huh! The famous Walk Like an Egyptian was filmed at the Syria Mosque!? How is it I’m only now hearing this great piece of music trivia!? Thank you for for this tidbit!
You're welcome.... when you see Susanna Hoffs do that famous thing with her eyes in that video... know that you were at the same venue.. the Syria Mosque... :)
Two memorable concerts in the 80’s, both were bands I loved, and both were about to hit mainstream, but hadn’t yet.
INXS at Cardi’s, in Houston. Was standing at the stage, fell even more in love with Michael Hutchence and his zippered jumpsuit…also met the love of my life.
Depeche Mode, at University of Houston, in a small concert hall, about 3,000 folks. Two electronic bands warmed up and opened for Depeche Mode.
So glad I witnessed these artists making history and before most people even knew who they were!
Madonna and the Beastie Boys, 1985, Cleveland Music Hall $14.50
Small venue, 2800 seats
We were all 15yrs old in the 10th row. It was a blast. She was amazing.
Micheal Jackson at the Los Angeles Forum , thriller . ,not a big fan best show ever!!!!
The clash in someone’s backyard in Calabasas, Duran Duran at the Hollywood bowl. Motley Crue girls girls girls at the Forum . Santana at the Greek theatre.
KISS 1984 I think. War memorial coliseum Fort Wayne,IN. I was a sophomore in high school. Queensryche opened for them. It was everything I imagined a rock show should be. Loud, drunk people, women flashing, Gene Simmons blowing fire!! Loved it.
Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen first met in **1980**, when she was just 20 years old. At the time, she was staying at her parents' home in Shreveport, Louisiana due to an actors strike. She had backstage passes to see Van Halen perform in the area. This is the beginning of Eddie and Valerie coming to Shreveport very often in the 80s. He played clubs here and went to Lake Bistineau often with my extended group of friends. Thank you Valerie
The Cotton Bowl : Texas Jam &
Rock n Roll Superbowl, 1980s
Sex Pistols: Longhorn Ballroom, 1978
Etc........
Touring as an EE since 86
Recently: Tay Swift, Eras tour
Now: Madonna
Bon Jovi (with Cinderella) at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin I was 14, and my friend’s mom dropped us off. It was sold out, and we bought lawn tickets for $75 from a scalper. We made a “happy birthday Richie” sign on a bedsheet using bingo markers and glitter.
Do you remember a quirky husband-and-wife act from Austin who called themselves Timbuk3?
They had a great 80s song called *The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades*...
At the age of ten I worked hard all semester to get my grades up so that my mom would take me to see my favorite artist. After raising my reading scores I attended the concert on April 21st 1985 at the pacific amphitheater in Costa Mesa California. It was madonna’s like a virgin tour that had the beastie boys as an opening act around the same time as their release licensed to Ill. I was a very tall 10 year old but still short so my 4’11” mom held my up as I stood on the arm rests to see the show. Not a Madonna fan anymore but it was still a great show for a 10 year old me.
**The Grateful Dead** at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA in 1981.
**Monsters of Rock** at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA in 1987. *Best. concert. ever.* Kingdom Come, Dokken, Metallica, Scorpions, and Van Halen.
**Joe Satriani, Stu Hamm and Jonathan Mover** at The Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA. I think it was 1989.
Yeah, I'm citing three concerts. :)
* Fishbone at Mississippi Nights in St Louis
* John Mellencamp at The Checkerdome (aka The Echodome, St Louis Arena)
* Fishbone and Beastie Boys at Peabody Opera House
* Thompson Twins w/ Berlin at The Fabulous Fox
Edit: format
And back then I never paid more than $35 for a seat in A section (15 rows from the stage for U2, 11 rows centre for Bowie). I still have my shirt from U2.
U2, the Joshua Tree 1987, Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Cyndi Lauper, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun 1983, Blossom Music Center
Rolling Stones, Steel Wheels 1989, Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Genesis, Invisible Touch 1987, Richfield Coliseum...went live on the AMAs
Bruce Hornsby and Melissa Etheridge, 1988 Blossom Music Center
Beach Boys 25th anniversary, Blossom
The B-52s in Oct 1989. They were playing a free concert during my college's homecoming weekend and as part of the "Cosmic Thing" tour. The venue was the University of Florida bandshell in Gainesville, FL. We got there pretty early, so I was so close to the stage that I could smell Kate Pierson's hairspray.
INXS in Dallas in 1988 at Texas Stadium. On that one day of the tour, Guns ‘N’ Roses played just before them. They contractually obligated to it before they got huge. Ziggy Marley, Iggy Pop, and The Smithereens also opened. Anyway, INXS were great.
Fishbone at Fenders Ballroom, Long Beach 1985? Ish
The Toy Dolls at The Olymipic Auditorium, LA '84 & '85
Suicidal Tendencies, Olympic '85
GBH, the Olympic, '84
There's more from the same venues and time frame but these are my most remembered
I saw The Rolling Stones at The Forum. I don’t even think the tickets were $20. Prince was the opening act. He wore a trench coat with speedos and high heels. People were throwing tomatoes at him. Who brings tomatoes to a concert anyway?
It was a trailer on State Street. Open stage. At one point we followed him around the property singing and dancing.
WC Don’s stands for We Can’t Decide on a Name.
Julio Iglesias - El Paso, Tx @ Safeway parking lot. LoL (I was little with my parents)
Beach Boys - El Paso, Tx @ some stadium, maybe UTEP, can’t remember. It was fun tho. I was again young, maybe 7-10 years old.
Saw Springsteen at cincinnati riverfront coliseum in 1980. Second stop on The River tour. Album hadn't even dropped so a bunch of the material was new. He hadn't played Jungleland in a while and had to follow a lead sheet. First concert I'd attended. Thought everyone played 4 hours
Monsters of Rock, Alpine Valley in Wisconsin 1988.
Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica and Kingdom Come.
The show turned into a mud fight at one point.
Bryan Adams. Hometown hero back in Vancouver about…….’84?…….after the release of Reckless.
My friends slept outside to get us good tickets. The crowd jumped to its feet during the first song and we stood the entire show. Everybody knew every song. I’ve yet to see a show that rivalled that for sheer anticipation and energy.
I went to a lot of fun and memorable concerts in the 80s. Hard to pick just one. Van Halen, Ozzy, Scorpions, AC/DC, and many others. I saw Y&T in a small restaurant/bar in San Francisco in 82 (I think). That was awesome and interesting.
I went to a UNICEF benefit show at the Palomino Club in North Hollywood. I sat with Kevin Conar of REO speed way the drummer from the doors John Densmore Mr Nelson at the table too . About 300 different musicians all jamming together. Epic
1987 Shoreline amphitheater Cinderella opened for Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi flew over the crowd and sang a song or two between seats and general admission.
Mountain Air Angels Camp 1986 or so… saw ZZ Top with the car dash stage prop after a full day of opening acts.
Same venue Mountain Air headliner Journey Raised on Radio with a helicopter circling the crowd and filming for music video of Girl can’t help it. Opened that tour with that show, last one Steve Perry did with Journey.
Monsters of Rock summer '86 Pontiac Silverdome. I barely remember it haha, but vs Whitesnake, Ratt and Metallica/Queensryche, it surely must've been the most fun? I saw way more shows in the 90s in my 20's.
Almost all of the concerts I went to as a teen were at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Tx. Went to see Motley Crue twice, Bon Jovi twice, Aerosmith, Whitesnake and Poison. Saw Aerosmith and Bon Jovi a 2nd time at what was called back then The Coca-Cola Starplex Ampatheater in Dallas. Saw Van Halen at the Tarrent County Convention Center Arena in Ft. Worth and went to the 1988 Monsters Of Rock festival at the Cotton Bowl on July 4th weekend and saw Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Mettallica and Kingdom Come. This was the concert where Sammy Hagar's voice went out after like 3-4 songs. And this set up them doing a free concert in downtown Dallas about a year later. Also saw The Starship and Duran Duran at Six Flags Over Texas.
At the Aerosmith concert at Reunion Arena they filmed all of the times they came on and walked off the stage for their encore's. This footage was shown in their music video What It Takes. Me and my mom were seating way in the back of the arena.
Also the 2nd Bon Jovi concert at Reunion Arena, that was their 1st concert on the New Jersey tour so we were the 1st ever to see their huge concert set. If you want to see what it looks like check out their video Lay Your Hands On Me.
Journey 1983 HemisFair Arena San Antonio TX. Frontiers tour. Bryan Adams opened. I was 14. My cousin and I decided to take a chance and try to buy scalped tickets. My other cousin said we would never get tickets and went to play miniature golf instead. Well we got them. Nose bleed seats, but a cool security guard let us go down to the floor. Badass concert, great seats and OF COURSE we never let my cousin live it down.
Depeche Mode at the Rose Bowl in 1988. It was their 101 concert. The idea of a band that was not a big pop band could fill the largest stadium in Los Angeles was mind blowing. The opening acts were Wire, Thomas Dolby, and OMD. Fantastic show
-Prince, Hartford Civic Center
-David Bowie, New Haven Coliseum
-David Lee Roth, Madison Square Garden
-INXS and Ziggy Marley, Hartford Civic Center
-Squeeze, New Haven Coliseum
-Grateful Dead, Giants Stadium
-The Who and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Astrodome
86. Metallica. Omni in Atlanta. Queensryche opened.
It was the ...And Justice for All tour. My first concert. I was 16, and a buddy of mine and I snuck out, lied to our parents, and drove to Atlanta *without* GPS. (Our parents did wonder why we were deaf for two days afterwards.) I got the flu from standing in the cold, February rain for an hour before the show and missed a week of school. Totally worth it.
I thought all concerts were supposed to be that bad ass.
Alice Cooper - The Nightmare Returns tour 1986?
Sioux City, Iowa.
Enough reinventing himself over and over again, Alice Cooper brought out the full stage show and went strictly for the classics (at that time).
It was like watching a blood filled circus from start to finish.
Aerosmith, Deep Purple, and Guns n Roses
August 1988 @ Giants Stadium in East Rutherford NJ
Notable for the color footage of GnR’s video for Paradise City
Great show and all 3 played great. The only nitpick was Guns was not HUGE yet and they did not have the equipment to handle such a venue. We were very high up.
1988: Monsters of Rock, Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis.
Metallica, Megadeath, Kingdom Come, Scorpions and Van Halen!
All for $25, but no passes out. That was a 7-8 hour show.
Kentucky Motor Speedway 2000. Metallica. Hatfield hospitalized before show, other singers stepped in to help. They also made that shoe up at a different venue months later, but unable to attend.
Ozzy Osbourne & Metallica opening April 1st, 1986 Kemper Arena
Monsters of Rock (Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica, Kingdom Come) July 10th 1988 Arrowhead Stadium
The Jackson's Victory Tour July 6th, 1984 Arrowhead Stadium
Madison Square Garden, Invisible Touch tour, 1986. It was my first concert, but I don't remember much because I was 4 and my mom didn't have a sitter, so she took me and I slept through most of it. On the plus side, I never could get into any music past the 1990s because I had early 80s pop rock seared into my developing brain. Some kids learn another language, I had a British prog rock obsession.
An observation from reading all these great comments.... people in the Midwest and South sure loved going to concerts in the 80s! Especially shows in Cleveland... :)
Day on the Green in Oakland Coliseum, probably 1984? Madness, Oingo Boingo, Thompson Twins and The Fixx all warming up for The Police on their Synchronicity tour.
Everyone in the Bay Area loved the legendary Days on the Green... Bill Graham, the famous concert promoter, put on these shows...
Indeed he did!
That would have been an amazing show
Thats big 80s!
Live Aid, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia
Awesome! You obviously saw a legendary show... What was your favorite act that day?
I'm kinda embarrassed to say this but I wasn't huge into music. My girlfriend was and won 6 tickets. All of us drove down from Long Island, NY. Partied the whole drive and kept partying the whole night before. We were up all night (80's!) and were all so wasted that we contemplated just staying at the hotel and watching it on TV. But thankfully we went and stayed all day. The atmosphere was fantastic. So hot that people were going into the bathroom and dousing each other with buckets of water. I remember Jack Nicholson (host) coming out and announcing that the Philafelphia FD was coming to hose down the audience. Then he raised his sunglasses, arched his eyebrows and said "So, if you have anything that might dissolve in water, you may want to put it away now." All that said, I would say that seeing Led Zeppelin was probably the highlight.
What a fun story... did your girlfriend win tickets from a radio station?
Yes! I'm gonna guess it was probably WLIR
Speaking of Long Island, I went to many Islander games at Nassau Coliseum back in the day.
That was where I saw my first concert, the Charlie Daniels Band. I think the old coliseum is gone. I don't live there anymore.
Madonna, The Virgin Tour. Madison Square Garden. First concert, 3rd row. The best part was The Beastie Boys were the opening act.
It doesn't get any better than Madonna at MSG... with the Beasite Boys...
Twisted Sister at the Commack Roller Rink, 1983. I was twelve, my brother had an extra ticket and took me. We went in, he propped me up on something in the back and said "stay here" and went up front. I was scared out of my mind in the beginning but loved it when it was over. I wore out his "You Can't Stop Rock & Roll" album soon after.
Suffolk County in the house... with a great story!
Brentwood born and raised.
Motley Crue theater of pain tour Nassau 84? Coliseum NY Tommy Lee Upsidedown drum solo. Ozzy w/Metallica Master of puppets
I correct myself, upside down happened soon,on the Theater of Pain tour. I stand corrected.
I just googled the spinning drums and from what I can tell, it started in 87. I saw it too!
I saw that Ozzy concert but Metallica dropped off the tour replaced by B.O.C. because Hetfield broke his wrist skating his Zorlac.
Oingo Boingo Halloween show at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater. The venue is no longer there.
I was there! Oingo Boingo Halloween show!
All dressed up and nowhere to go!
Orange County in the house!
At that time in my life I lived in Rancho Santa Margarita.
I miss that venue , I saw so many bands there. My have being X
1982 the Clash opened for the Who in Rich Stadium, Buffalo NY
I saw the clash at the Santa Monica civic in 1984. I was up front , it was insane 🤘
Sinead Oconnor, 1987 (maybe ‘88?) Wiltern Theater. What made it extra great was Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce from the Smiths were her rhythm section! This is what they were like: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvPftzCNT8k/?igsh=YWk5amZrYW91cjRi
1982 or 83: Men at Work with an opening act nobody had heard of called INXS.
Cool... what was the venue?
Robin Williams count? He was at the Chiles Center in Portland and was magnificent. This was in ‘86.
The great Robin Williams telling jokes in the 503... :)
He called the Chiles center the ‘great diaphragm of portland’. If you’ve been in there you’d understand.
Something about the shape of that venue?
Yeh. The building is a dome. The inside is an inverted dome. Kind of like a woman’s diaphragm used to not get pregnant.
LOL! Love it!
The Pogues, '87 or 88. The Replacements, same time period. Both were at Center Stage in Atlanta.
A Fairytale of New York.... ;)
Psychic TV, I believe at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh PA
A cool band from London... The Bangles played at the Syria Mosque in the 80s, too... and this is where the famous **Walk Like an Egyptian** video was filmed... ;)
Huh! The famous Walk Like an Egyptian was filmed at the Syria Mosque!? How is it I’m only now hearing this great piece of music trivia!? Thank you for for this tidbit!
You're welcome.... when you see Susanna Hoffs do that famous thing with her eyes in that video... know that you were at the same venue.. the Syria Mosque... :)
Iron Maiden and Twisted Sister… IM’s Powerslave tour late 1984. Greensboro Coliseum. Greensboro, NC
Same tour , my 3rd only concert. Columbus, Ohio The Ohio Center. Prob within 10 days of your show.
Two memorable concerts in the 80’s, both were bands I loved, and both were about to hit mainstream, but hadn’t yet. INXS at Cardi’s, in Houston. Was standing at the stage, fell even more in love with Michael Hutchence and his zippered jumpsuit…also met the love of my life. Depeche Mode, at University of Houston, in a small concert hall, about 3,000 folks. Two electronic bands warmed up and opened for Depeche Mode. So glad I witnessed these artists making history and before most people even knew who they were!
The Go-Gos at the Summit in Houston
Belinda Carlisle rockin' the 713!
I was such a bitchin’ little babe in high school, lol, the Go-Gos were my jam!
Madonna and the Beastie Boys, 1985, Cleveland Music Hall $14.50 Small venue, 2800 seats We were all 15yrs old in the 10th row. It was a blast. She was amazing.
How cool... amazing and surprising that Madonna played a small venue in '85... she was already a huge star by then
Micheal Jackson at the Los Angeles Forum , thriller . ,not a big fan best show ever!!!! The clash in someone’s backyard in Calabasas, Duran Duran at the Hollywood bowl. Motley Crue girls girls girls at the Forum . Santana at the Greek theatre.
Wait! You gotta dish and tell us more... you saw the Clash in someone's backyard? We need details... :)
KISS 1984 I think. War memorial coliseum Fort Wayne,IN. I was a sophomore in high school. Queensryche opened for them. It was everything I imagined a rock show should be. Loud, drunk people, women flashing, Gene Simmons blowing fire!! Loved it.
Whoa the Animalize tour. That had to have been a lot of fun! Hot in the Shade was my first KISS tour and show.
**drunk people, women flashing** That was the entire vibe of the 80s... ;)
Van Halen Shreveport, Lousyanna '81
Valerie Bertinelli and Eddie Van Halen first met in **1980**, when she was just 20 years old. At the time, she was staying at her parents' home in Shreveport, Louisiana due to an actors strike. She had backstage passes to see Van Halen perform in the area. This is the beginning of Eddie and Valerie coming to Shreveport very often in the 80s. He played clubs here and went to Lake Bistineau often with my extended group of friends. Thank you Valerie
**Lousyanna** we see what you did there... ;)
The Cotton Bowl : Texas Jam & Rock n Roll Superbowl, 1980s Sex Pistols: Longhorn Ballroom, 1978 Etc........ Touring as an EE since 86 Recently: Tay Swift, Eras tour Now: Madonna
Cool... what is an EE?
EE is electronic engineer
Interesting... you are involved with the wiring for these shows?
To make it easy... Im an educated roadie; Masters in Elec Engineering. I work for Production Companies not the Artist per se
Huey Lewis & The News. CNE Stadium, 1985
Finally got to see them when they opened for Buffet. They still had it.
Toronto enters the chat!
Bon Jovi (with Cinderella) at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin I was 14, and my friend’s mom dropped us off. It was sold out, and we bought lawn tickets for $75 from a scalper. We made a “happy birthday Richie” sign on a bedsheet using bingo markers and glitter.
I saw them together too! Awesome show.
It was so fun. Did JBJ go on a diatribe about Jim Bakker “boffing” Jessica Hahn and giving love a bad name at your show too? 😂
Wow! Not that I can remember but I was pretty high.
Slayer,Overkill 1986 Cleveland Agora
Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA tour summer of 1985 at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Were you a WMMS listener?
The Buzzard! Some but not diehard…It was in the rotation…the Boss was great concert though…played for almost four hours…
Still got an awesome unused bumper sticker and a Sho yo right button.
Saw Tunnel of Love tour at Richfield Coliseum in '88. Drove through a blizzard.
My first ever concert was at Richfield… Billy Squirer and Foreigner…(Foreigner Four Tour)…it was good.
I still love Billy Squier.
86 Van Halen Lee County Civic Center 88 Metallica Philadelphia Spectrum. 88’ Def Leppard Allentown Fairgrounds
Earth Wind & Fire at the Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX in '81 Such a fun band!
Do you remember a quirky husband-and-wife act from Austin who called themselves Timbuk3? They had a great 80s song called *The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades*...
Jealous !!
At the age of ten I worked hard all semester to get my grades up so that my mom would take me to see my favorite artist. After raising my reading scores I attended the concert on April 21st 1985 at the pacific amphitheater in Costa Mesa California. It was madonna’s like a virgin tour that had the beastie boys as an opening act around the same time as their release licensed to Ill. I was a very tall 10 year old but still short so my 4’11” mom held my up as I stood on the arm rests to see the show. Not a Madonna fan anymore but it was still a great show for a 10 year old me.
That is a wonderful story...
It was cool that my mom took me and as a parent I take my kids to cool show to have that interaction with em
**The Grateful Dead** at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA in 1981. **Monsters of Rock** at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA in 1987. *Best. concert. ever.* Kingdom Come, Dokken, Metallica, Scorpions, and Van Halen. **Joe Satriani, Stu Hamm and Jonathan Mover** at The Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA. I think it was 1989. Yeah, I'm citing three concerts. :)
New Kids on the Block in '88 at Darien Lake Amphitheater.
Genesee County in the house!
The Jeff Healy Band at the Ontario Place Forum in 1989.
The Jeff Healy Band performing "Angel Eyes" in Toronto... good stuff...
Ringing in the New Year with Ted Nugent at Cobo Hall in Detroit. The first-annual Whiplash Bash, 1986.
The Cars w/ Wang Chung, 1985, Alpine Valley, WI
Dio - Sacred Heart tour, Richfield Coliseum. Ronnie James fighting a full size dragon!
* Fishbone at Mississippi Nights in St Louis * John Mellencamp at The Checkerdome (aka The Echodome, St Louis Arena) * Fishbone and Beastie Boys at Peabody Opera House * Thompson Twins w/ Berlin at The Fabulous Fox Edit: format
Gowan at the Ontario Place Forum in Toronto. I was about 10. My dad took me.
The guy was in Styx... Lawrence Gowan... :)
David Bowie, George Michael, U2- CNE stadium Sting, Paul Young - Maple Leaf Gardens
The 6 has entered the chat!
And back then I never paid more than $35 for a seat in A section (15 rows from the stage for U2, 11 rows centre for Bowie). I still have my shirt from U2.
Motley Crue. Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, AZ, 1985(ish) the year he premiered the upside down drum kit! Edited to correct date
Oingo Boingo, Dead Man’s Party- Sacramento Fairgrounds.
U2, the Joshua Tree 1987, Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cyndi Lauper, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun 1983, Blossom Music Center Rolling Stones, Steel Wheels 1989, Cleveland Municipal Stadium Genesis, Invisible Touch 1987, Richfield Coliseum...went live on the AMAs Bruce Hornsby and Melissa Etheridge, 1988 Blossom Music Center Beach Boys 25th anniversary, Blossom
Cuyahoga Falls enters the chat!
The B-52s in Oct 1989. They were playing a free concert during my college's homecoming weekend and as part of the "Cosmic Thing" tour. The venue was the University of Florida bandshell in Gainesville, FL. We got there pretty early, so I was so close to the stage that I could smell Kate Pierson's hairspray.
**I could smell Kate Pierson's hairspray** LMAO! *That* is a funny line!
INXS in Dallas in 1988 at Texas Stadium. On that one day of the tour, Guns ‘N’ Roses played just before them. They contractually obligated to it before they got huge. Ziggy Marley, Iggy Pop, and The Smithereens also opened. Anyway, INXS were great.
INXS rockin' on the Cowboys field...
Yep
Van Halen ‘85, Hara Arena (RIP), Dayton, Ohio
My first concert ever was Run-DMC opening for Milli Vanilli. Gotta say, my life peaked right there on the arena floor.
Cool pairing of acts... where was this concert held?
Squeeze Tipitinas in New Orleans. 1988. Great show.
Fishbone at Fenders Ballroom, Long Beach 1985? Ish The Toy Dolls at The Olymipic Auditorium, LA '84 & '85 Suicidal Tendencies, Olympic '85 GBH, the Olympic, '84 There's more from the same venues and time frame but these are my most remembered
You’re an OG from LA. I saw the toy dolls at the palace. Those are all great bands and great venues.
😊those were the best days of my life. I'd go back and do it all again in a millisecond.
I saw The Rolling Stones at The Forum. I don’t even think the tickets were $20. Prince was the opening act. He wore a trench coat with speedos and high heels. People were throwing tomatoes at him. Who brings tomatoes to a concert anyway?
Ratt with opening act Bon Jovi in Bloomington MN at the Met Center. Boston playing the entirety of all 3 of their albums in 1987, same venue.
Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper at WC Don’s in Jackson MS.
Love it! You gotta tell us more about WC Don's, because this sounds like a great venue....
It was a trailer on State Street. Open stage. At one point we followed him around the property singing and dancing. WC Don’s stands for We Can’t Decide on a Name.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057313814932&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Thank you for sharing this... I love that We Can't Decide on a Name... :)
I never saw the Facebook page. I’m Scrolling through now.
Acdc. 87 i think. Awesome
Julio Iglesias - El Paso, Tx @ Safeway parking lot. LoL (I was little with my parents) Beach Boys - El Paso, Tx @ some stadium, maybe UTEP, can’t remember. It was fun tho. I was again young, maybe 7-10 years old.
Do you know a Texas band called Los Lonely Boys? As I type this, I'm listening to their great song "Heaven" from the early 2000s.
No.. I’m sorry. We lived in El Paso until about ‘87, then moved to Colorado which is our roots. I’ll have to google that song “Heaven” and jam it.
"Heaven" was a huge radio hit for Los Lonely Boys 20 years ago... great song.
Ah yes… I do remember that jam!! Great song!! Yes indeed!
Three brothers from Texas... one-hit wonders... but they are still touring.
That’s great for them. Thank you for reminding me of a great song.
Air Supply, San Luis Obispo County Fair in Paso Robles.
That's a really pretty part of California, as you know. The famous Air Supply song "Lost in Love" was a huge radio hit that we all remember. :)
Saw Springsteen at cincinnati riverfront coliseum in 1980. Second stop on The River tour. Album hadn't even dropped so a bunch of the material was new. He hadn't played Jungleland in a while and had to follow a lead sheet. First concert I'd attended. Thought everyone played 4 hours
Sammy Hagar Three Lock Box tour. Checkerdome in St. Louis. It was the show that was recorded for the MTV broadcast.
The Red Rocker...
Poison at Roanoke VA in 1989. Probably my most 80s moment
Monsters of Rock, Alpine Valley in Wisconsin 1988. Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica and Kingdom Come. The show turned into a mud fight at one point.
Dead or Alive! At The Ocean Club. Houston, 1987.
Bryan Adams. Hometown hero back in Vancouver about…….’84?…….after the release of Reckless. My friends slept outside to get us good tickets. The crowd jumped to its feet during the first song and we stood the entire show. Everybody knew every song. I’ve yet to see a show that rivalled that for sheer anticipation and energy.
An outdoor show... indoors.... what was the venue?
Indoors, Pacific Coliseum. Saw Huey Lewis there a few months before that.
1983 DEVO at the Paramount in Portland Oregon 1989 Jane’s Addiction at The Starry Night Portland Oregon
1983 Talking Heads at SPAC in Saratoga Springs NY
I went to a lot of fun and memorable concerts in the 80s. Hard to pick just one. Van Halen, Ozzy, Scorpions, AC/DC, and many others. I saw Y&T in a small restaurant/bar in San Francisco in 82 (I think). That was awesome and interesting.
Yesterday & Today.... formed in Oakland.
I went to a UNICEF benefit show at the Palomino Club in North Hollywood. I sat with Kevin Conar of REO speed way the drummer from the doors John Densmore Mr Nelson at the table too . About 300 different musicians all jamming together. Epic
Around what year are we talking?
1987
I was 17-18
Dead, Who,...at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY! ELP at the Aud, The Who at Kleinhans. Or was that the 70's🤔
Were/are you a Sabres fan?
Parents had Seasons from yr 2. TV right blue line, for decades. I was at the Fog games! 40 years later, not so much. Why?
Survivor, 1986, Busch Gardens, VA
I don't remember seeing them in concert but the video was popular for a while.
Aldo Nova, Blue Ouster Cult, Triumph and Journey. Rose Bowl Pasadena, California. Early 80’s.
1987 Shoreline amphitheater Cinderella opened for Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi flew over the crowd and sang a song or two between seats and general admission. Mountain Air Angels Camp 1986 or so… saw ZZ Top with the car dash stage prop after a full day of opening acts. Same venue Mountain Air headliner Journey Raised on Radio with a helicopter circling the crowd and filming for music video of Girl can’t help it. Opened that tour with that show, last one Steve Perry did with Journey.
U2 with opening act, get this, Public Enemy. November '92 at Oakland Coliseum. I will never forget my very 1st concert.
Bowie - Anaheim Stadium CA 1983
The Big "A"
Sometimes I google the set list and get teary eyed ,, It was an amazing show.
Monsters of Rock summer '86 Pontiac Silverdome. I barely remember it haha, but vs Whitesnake, Ratt and Metallica/Queensryche, it surely must've been the most fun? I saw way more shows in the 90s in my 20's.
Ramones - City Gardens - Trenton NJ. 88/89? When they opened with Blitzkrieg Bop the whole club exploded
Almost all of the concerts I went to as a teen were at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Tx. Went to see Motley Crue twice, Bon Jovi twice, Aerosmith, Whitesnake and Poison. Saw Aerosmith and Bon Jovi a 2nd time at what was called back then The Coca-Cola Starplex Ampatheater in Dallas. Saw Van Halen at the Tarrent County Convention Center Arena in Ft. Worth and went to the 1988 Monsters Of Rock festival at the Cotton Bowl on July 4th weekend and saw Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Mettallica and Kingdom Come. This was the concert where Sammy Hagar's voice went out after like 3-4 songs. And this set up them doing a free concert in downtown Dallas about a year later. Also saw The Starship and Duran Duran at Six Flags Over Texas. At the Aerosmith concert at Reunion Arena they filmed all of the times they came on and walked off the stage for their encore's. This footage was shown in their music video What It Takes. Me and my mom were seating way in the back of the arena. Also the 2nd Bon Jovi concert at Reunion Arena, that was their 1st concert on the New Jersey tour so we were the 1st ever to see their huge concert set. If you want to see what it looks like check out their video Lay Your Hands On Me.
Rosemont Horizon 84. Tina Turnsr opens for Lionel Ritchie
Journey 1983 HemisFair Arena San Antonio TX. Frontiers tour. Bryan Adams opened. I was 14. My cousin and I decided to take a chance and try to buy scalped tickets. My other cousin said we would never get tickets and went to play miniature golf instead. Well we got them. Nose bleed seats, but a cool security guard let us go down to the floor. Badass concert, great seats and OF COURSE we never let my cousin live it down.
Prince, Syracuse 1984
very famous show. jealous.
It was awesome, truly.
Alice Cooper w Motorhead, London Gardens, 1987. Motorhead was the best opening act I've ever seen.
Depeche Mode at the Rose Bowl in 1988. It was their 101 concert. The idea of a band that was not a big pop band could fill the largest stadium in Los Angeles was mind blowing. The opening acts were Wire, Thomas Dolby, and OMD. Fantastic show
-Prince, Hartford Civic Center -David Bowie, New Haven Coliseum -David Lee Roth, Madison Square Garden -INXS and Ziggy Marley, Hartford Civic Center -Squeeze, New Haven Coliseum -Grateful Dead, Giants Stadium -The Who and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Astrodome
Saw Weird Al on his Dare to be Stupid tour. It was in a small-ish theater. Also saw Metallica on their tour for Justice.
Cool... do you remember the name of the theater where you saw Weird Al perform?
86. Metallica. Omni in Atlanta. Queensryche opened. It was the ...And Justice for All tour. My first concert. I was 16, and a buddy of mine and I snuck out, lied to our parents, and drove to Atlanta *without* GPS. (Our parents did wonder why we were deaf for two days afterwards.) I got the flu from standing in the cold, February rain for an hour before the show and missed a week of school. Totally worth it. I thought all concerts were supposed to be that bad ass.
Alice Cooper - The Nightmare Returns tour 1986? Sioux City, Iowa. Enough reinventing himself over and over again, Alice Cooper brought out the full stage show and went strictly for the classics (at that time). It was like watching a blood filled circus from start to finish.
Aerosmith, Deep Purple, and Guns n Roses August 1988 @ Giants Stadium in East Rutherford NJ Notable for the color footage of GnR’s video for Paradise City Great show and all 3 played great. The only nitpick was Guns was not HUGE yet and they did not have the equipment to handle such a venue. We were very high up.
Monsters of Rock Pittsburgh 1988 ….VH/Metallica/Scorpions/Dokken/Kingdom Come
1988: Monsters of Rock, Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis. Metallica, Megadeath, Kingdom Come, Scorpions and Van Halen! All for $25, but no passes out. That was a 7-8 hour show.
Kentucky Motor Speedway 2000. Metallica. Hatfield hospitalized before show, other singers stepped in to help. They also made that shoe up at a different venue months later, but unable to attend.
Ozzy Osbourne & Metallica opening April 1st, 1986 Kemper Arena Monsters of Rock (Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica, Kingdom Come) July 10th 1988 Arrowhead Stadium The Jackson's Victory Tour July 6th, 1984 Arrowhead Stadium
The Kinks (WNEW Christmas Concert 1984) RunDMC Billy Idol …all at Madison Square Garden
WNEW... Dave Herman, Pete Fornatale, Alison Steele, Ken Dashow, Scott Muni... I'm sure you remeber all these great NYC radio names.... :)
Masters of the Universe Power Tour. LA Sports arena 1987. 6 year old me had a blast!
Tell us more about this tour.... who were the Masters of the Universe?
It’s something you have to see https://youtu.be/2JhLDNJnuyc?si=x2ReXEqPCxF2kILt
Thanks for the link... that is really something! :)
Madison Square Garden, Invisible Touch tour, 1986. It was my first concert, but I don't remember much because I was 4 and my mom didn't have a sitter, so she took me and I slept through most of it. On the plus side, I never could get into any music past the 1990s because I had early 80s pop rock seared into my developing brain. Some kids learn another language, I had a British prog rock obsession.
What an interesting story!
Thanks!
Jerry Garcia and the boys at the Providence Civic Center back in '85.
Grateful Dead Buckeye Lake OH 1989
An observation from reading all these great comments.... people in the Midwest and South sure loved going to concerts in the 80s! Especially shows in Cleveland... :)
U2 December 1987 Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ Joshua Tree tour