QUESTION OF THE WEEK, THANKS TO READER/POSTER SILAS BARNABY: WHEN, WHERE, WHO WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT AND HOW OLD WERE YOU??

Judas Priest, Defenders Of The Faith tour, Madison Square Garden, NYC, June 1984. I was 15? I believe,

That was the infamous show, where the fans tore the cushion foam out of the seats and threw it onstage. It caused  $250,000 worth of damage and caused Priest to be banned from playing the Garden ever again. I think the ban is still in effect.

You can read about it at Ultimate Classic Rock, by clicking on the highlighted story title, 40 Years Ago: Judas Priest Fans Trash Madison Square Garden.

79 Responses

  4. December 29, 1982, Aerosmith at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, OK. Ticket was $12.50. I was 16 years old. My primary memory of it is that Steven Tyler had a hell of a time remembering the words to all of the songs. I believe that shortly after that show they had to take a break because Steven was in such bad shape. No Brad Whitford or Joe Fucking Perry, they’d been replaced by Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay. The legendary Rose Tattoo opened. Let’s just say that Aerosmith wasn’t at the top of their game.

  5. Late to the game…but first concert was David Lee Roth “Skyscraper” tour with Poison opening. I was 16 and BOY WAS THAT A SHOW!!!! Singing California Girls while on a Surfboard floating across the arena, Dave singing Panama in a Boxing Ring in the middle of the arena (no idea why but it was AWESOME)…to letting Steve Vai totally rip on stage, this was a dream come true!!!

    1. I saw that tour, except when Roth got to my neck of the woods (Jones Beach), his opening bands were Cinderella and Extreme. Great show.

    2. Dave was at least smart enough to put together a world class band on Skyscraper and Eat’em and Smile. You don’t get much better than Vai, Greg Bissonette and Billy Sheehan. I would have loved to have seen that show. I did see Steve Vai do a solo show and he’s certainly one of the best guitarists on the planet. Caught Sheehan with Mr. Big a couple of times, and same as Vai, he’s just an incredible player.

    3. I agree, Rich,

      I missed the extraordinary Eat’Em Smile line up, as well. That live show, must have been something else. On the tour that we both saw, Sheehan, had been replaced by Greg Bissonette‘s brother, Matt. He was fine, but he is no Billy Sheehan. 😉

      I was fortunate enough to see Badlands and Mr. Big on the same bill (Man was that show LOUD). Also, I saw Vai on the G3 tour with Satriani and Eric Johnson, who was my favorite, of the lineup.

    4. I saw them at the Meadowlands in NJ…originally it was supposed to be Guns N Roses opening, but rumors Dave pulled them. Would have LOVED to see that tour with EXTREME…although I saw them in ’88, Extreme didn’t come out till “89…

      My second show was Whitesnake 1990, in Long Island with Steve Vai (Kix opened). They let Steve do some solo stuff a few times he was AMAZING!!!

    5. Interesting, I would have LOVED to have seen Whitesnake with my love, John Sykes. I saw them open for Mötley Crüe, at Madison Square Garden, on Crüe‘s Girls, Girls, Girls tour. I think, Vivian Campbell, was in the band at that time, along with Adrian Vandenberg? I was so pissed off, that Sykes, and the rest of the ’84 lineup (Powell and Murray), were no longer members of the band, that I cannot recall, who was on guitar, alongside Vandenberg, as I really didn’t give a s–t, since Sykes was no longer in the band.

      As for Roth, I understand why, he may have pulled the plug, on having GN’R as an opening act. Rose, was probably, still at the zenith, of his diva era, and was known to show up outrageously late, walk off stage mid show (and end it) or cancel at the last minute, causing riots. Although, it sounds like an enticing combo, I think Roth, made the wise decision, not to play with temperamental fire.

      I went to see Guns N’ Roses, back when Skid Row, and Alice In Chains, were opening for the band. It was at the Nassau Coliseum, and once Skid Row left the stage, Guns N’ Roses did not appear, until almost midnight, or somewhere around there? I thought there was going to be a riot, the entire Coliseum was chanting “Bullshit, Bullshit” over and over.

      Let me say, the show was phenomenal, and Stradlin was still in the band. So, I got hear Dust In Bones live, which was AMAZING. I think that show, might have pre-dated the release of the double Illusion albums, however, if not, it was shortly after their release.

      Regarding why, the band was so obnoxiously late to get onstage, the rumor was, Rose was watching a movie, with his then girlfriend, Stephanie Seymour, back at his hotel in Manhattan. He allegedly wouldn’t leave, until he saw the end of the movie. Then, from the city, he had to be transported 35-45 minutes out to Long Island, for the show. Such inconsiderate behavior, does not resonate well, with the fans.

      Finally, are you local to the area? Do you (still) reside in the tri-state area? It sounds like it, based upon where you were attending these live performances.

    6. Born and raised in Staten Island. Moved out to Jersey like 20 years ago (Phillipsburg)…they have the arena in Allentown (not too far from me) but no one good ever plays there! Windcreek in Bethlehem will have some good shows but in old i need a damn seat! (Saw Anthrax 2 years ago at Windcreek and my back and feet were killing me!). Back in the day Meadowlands was my place, saw so many concerts there (and some awesome WWE events)!! Saw Kiss there in ’92 (with Trixter and Faster Pussycat opening) to a half filled arena. Great show but no reaction at all for Faster pussycat, and sad seeing so many empty seats.

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