Great Concert Moments You've Experienced

[JIMMYBUFFETT]

Any parrotheads in here??
My first Jimmy Buffett concert was quite the experience. (par for the course for regulars) The concert was much more layed back than the parking lot, which is where the real party takes place! We got there about 4 hours early and set up tequila shots on the tailgate of my buddies truck. We made margaritas and passed out shots to cars as they drove past our spot, searching for parking. It lead to many people congregating at our parking spot, which lead to a great pre-concert party. You would not believe the things you see at a Buffett show. He spans all age groups (much like Dylan) and it leads to some really creative things. My favorite setup was a pickup loaded with sand, with a real palm tree stuffed in it, and a keg. It was awesome.The guy literally brought the beach to us. The show was great, I lost my voice from singing along all night, and on the way back to the car, I almost stepped on some guy about 60 years old, laying on his back, shouting "This was the best night of my entire life!" Good times.

Thanks, glad you like my stuff. I've seen myself 4 times, and all at Jazz Fest. I'm a big fan of myself.

 

[CowboyDan]

Thanks, glad you like my stuff. I've seen myself 4 times, and all at Jazz Fest. I'm a big fan of myself.

No problem.....do you find it weird that all these people pay to watch you play with yourself and the Coral Reefers?

 

[Dodger12]

Define "earlier". He's been vocal about his politics since Born in the USA came out in the 80's.

There’s nothing political about Born in the USA and the album was far from any type of political statement. He may have sung about the Vietnam War and the treatment of the returning vets but that’s a far cry from what he’s been doing lately. Same with his follow-up, Tunnel of Love, that didn’t have a hint of political overtones so I don’t know how you can believe that. He never let his songs be used for political purposes (by either party) and denied any political affiliation. I saw him in concert during the Born in the USA tour and any monologue was about his Dad, his hair, New Jersey, etc and certainly nothing that can be remotely described as a 1/3 political rally. It’s not until the 2000’s and after the Iraq war that he became politically vocal.

 

[WV Cowboy]

I attended many concerts when I was young, and had a ton of great memories, but the first that came to mind was from an outdoor all day event at 3 Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

As a matter of fact, the kids tore up the stadium so bad that day that they never had another concert there. It was on the news and everything.

I cant' remember every group because like I said they played all day and into the night.

Kansas, Styx, 3 Dog Night, BTO, Chicago ... I wish I could remember more.

Any way, I was standing there beside my buddy, sort of "altered" a little I guess, LOL, when a tennis ball hits him in the head, ricochettes over and hits me in the neck, takes one bounce off of the turf when I grab it out of the air and throw it towards the stage.

It all happened in a split second.

The ball flew up and knocked over Edgar Winter's wine bottle sitting on his piano, .. and everybody booed and booed whoever threw the ball.

I just started booing too. It was hilarious.

 

[ZeroClub]

35 years and 1 week ago (May 3rd, 1976), I went to Paul McCartney and Wings' Wings Over America show in Fort Worth, Texas. It was the first show in their U.S. tour. I had great floor seats. It was a great time.

Many best moments ... they began playing "Band on the Run" as the photo of the album cover of the same name was projected on a screen located behind the band. And then the still photo became a movie ... the album cover went live action. (I guess you'd have had to be there.) Another moment was when McCartney broke into "Yesterday."

 

[JIMMYBUFFETT]

No problem.....do you find it weird that all these people pay to watch you play with yourself and the Coral Reefers?

Ehh...not really. I've always enjoyed watching myself play with myself and can certainly understand why others would enjoy it too.

I'm not a big Springsteen fan either, but State Trooper is a killer track.

 

[CowboyDan]

There’s nothing political about Born in the USA and the album was far from any type of political statement. He may have sung about the Vietnam War and the treatment of the returning vets but that’s a far cry from what he’s been doing lately. Same with his follow-up, Tunnel of Love, that didn’t have a hint of political overtones so I don’t know how you can believe that. He never let his songs be used for political purposes (by either party) and denied any political affiliation. I saw him in concert during the Born in the USA tour and any monologue was about his Dad, his hair, New Jersey, etc and certainly nothing that can be remotely described as a 1/3 political rally. It’s not until the 2000’s and after the Iraq war that he became politically vocal.

Couple of things here....

-That description of his concerts as part political rally, part revival meeting, part r-n-r show is from Bruce's mouth. I've heard him use it in quite a few interviews over the years.

-I agree that he has gotten more involved since Iraq, but he's always had a political side to him and political messages in his songs. Not every song, not every album, but the bulk of them.

-Here's a little history on the Born in the USA song (which FYI was an extra from the Nebraska album):

"The 1984 presidential campaign was in full stride at the time, and George Will had connections to President Ronald Reagan's re-election organization. Will thought that Springsteen might endorse Reagan (not knowing that Springsteen was very much a liberal and thus did not support Reagan at all), and got the notion pushed up to high-level Reagan advisor Michael Deaver's office. Those staffers made inquiries to Springsteen's management which were politely rebuffed.
Nevertheless, on September 19, 1984, at a campaign stop in Hammonton, New Jersey, Reagan added the following to his usual stump speech:
"America's future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts; it rests in the message of hope in songs so many young Americans admire: New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen. And helping you make those dreams come true is what this job of mine is all about." [5]The campaign press immediately expressed skepticism that Reagan knew anything about Springsteen, and asked what his favorite Springsteen song was; "Born to Run" was the tardy response from staffers. Johnny Carson then joked on The Tonight Show, "If you believe that, I've got a couple of tickets to the Mondale-Ferraro inaugural ball I'd like to sell you."
During a September 21 concert in Pittsburgh, Springsteen responded negatively by introducing his song "Johnny 99", a song about an unemployed auto worker who turns to murder, "The President was mentioning my name the other day, and I kinda got to wondering what his favorite album musta been. I don't think it was the Nebraska album. I don't think he's been listening to this one."[6]
A few days after that, presidential challenger Walter Mondale said, "Bruce Springsteen may have been born to run but he wasn't born yesterday," and then claimed to have been endorsed by Springsteen. Springsteen manager Jon Landau denied any such endorsement, and the Mondale campaign issued a correction.
With "Born in the U.S.A." Springsteen was wildly misunderstood, at least for a short period. With these sound bites from Reagan and other right-wingers praising the song and Springsteen, himself, it seemed as though they'd missed the point entirely. Springsteen was lamenting the loss of a true sense of national pride. The working class no longer had a say in the foreign policy or decisions made by the government as a whole. The reverberating chorus of "Born in the U.S.A." was a cry of longing, of sorrow. It was a hollow cry of patriotism that once was, but now ceased to exist.[3]
In Springsteen’s own words, the song "Born in the U.S.A." is about "a working-class man" [in the midst of a] "spiritual crisis, in which man is left lost...It's like he has nothing left to tie him into society anymore. He's isolated from the government. Isolated from his family...to the point where nothing makes sense." [3] Springsteen promotes the fact that the endless search for truth is the true American way.[7] He was frightened by the government continually rationalizing the Vietnam War.[citation needed]"

 

[CowboyDan]

Want more evidence of Springsteen's political views at concerts? Check out the 3 disc set "Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live 1975-85", especially the story before the performance of the song "War".

 

[big dog cowboy]

Got to go to the last Texxas Jam or Monsters of Rock, whatever you want to call it. Metallica, Van Halen, Scorps, Dokken... Freakin awesome show.

I was there also and remember it very well.

 

[CowboyDan]

I don't remember the year....95 maybe? but Metallica had this contest for the fans to pick which city they would have a free concert in. They picked Philly, and I cut classes that day and drove down to the show, which was outside, during the afternoon on a weekday. It was an awesome turnout and a great show by Metallica.

 

[Faerluna]

I saw Aerosmith 3 times on their Eat the Rich tour in the early 90s.

The first time was in Binghamton, NY then at MSG in NYC. The last time was Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA and we managed to get the passes to the front and were right at the stage for the whole concert. I also caught a drumstick at that last concert.

 

[jimmy40]

Journey Escape tour 1981 Houston. Me and my girlfriend at the time had seats behind the stage, on the video(Greatest Hits DVD) of Stone in Love there's a closeup of Steve Perry and you can see me and my girlfriend in the background. My kids think it's pretty cool, my wife, not so much.

 

[Concord]

Freddie Mercury and Queen.

Sept 21st 1980...Cleveland

 

[Dodger12]

Couple of things here....

-That description of his concerts as part political rally, part revival meeting, part r-n-r show is from Bruce's mouth. I've heard him use it in quite a few interviews over the years.

Maybe you have Dan but he didn't use it in his concerts during the Born in the USA Tour. He didn't use any political overtones in his follow-up albums, including Tunnel of Love and his Live multi-disk album. On the contrary, all his monologues that I remember from his live album were about life, his youth, his Dad, etc. There weren't any political pot shots that I can remember.

-I agree that he has gotten more involved since Iraq, but he's always had a political side to him and political messages in his songs. Not every song, not every album, but the bulk of them.

Maybe his recent albums, yes, which was my initial point; but to say the bulk of them is way out there.

-Here's a little history on the Born in the USA song (which FYI was an extra from the Nebraska album):

"The 1984 presidential campaign was in full stride at the time, and George Will had connections to President Ronald Reagan's re-election organization. Will thought that Springsteen might endorse Reagan (not knowing that Springsteen was very much a liberal and thus did not support Reagan at all), and got the notion pushed up to high-level Reagan advisor Michael Deaver's office. Those staffers made inquiries to Springsteen's management which were politely rebuffed.

Dan, you're being very disingenuous here. The part that I bolded was not in the article you referenced and was inserted by you to further prop up your point. Not cool, especially since you didn't identify the inserted section as your own thoughts/beliefs/opinion. He didn't endorse Walter Mondale later so does that mean he was a conservative? You further cherry picked the article and left out some key points, namely the following from Wikipedia:

"While in past years Springsteen had played benefits for causes in which he believed – against nuclear energy, for Vietnam veterans, Amnesty International, and the Christic Institute – he had always refrained from explicitly endorsing candidates for political office (indeed he had rejected the efforts of Walter Mondale to attract an endorsement during the 1984 Reagan "Born in the U.S.A." flap)."

"American conservative columnist George Will, after attending a show, wrote in September 1984 that Springsteen was an exemplar of classic American values. He wrote: "I have not got a clue about Springsteen's politics, if any, but flags get waved at his concerts while he sings songs about hard times. He is no whiner, and the recitation of closed factories and other problems always seems punctuated by a grand, cheerful affirmation: 'Born in the U.S.A.!'"

-If Springsteen's concerts were 1/3 political rally, as you claim, then wouldn't George Will, a conservative columnist whom you referred to in your post, have observed it or realized it after he attended a concert? On the contrary, George Will specifically stated that he had no clue about Springsteen's politics after attending a show.

With "Born in the U.S.A." Springsteen was wildly misunderstood, at least for a short period. With these sound bites from Reagan and other right-wingers praising the song and Springsteen, himself, it seemed as though they'd missed the point entirely. Springsteen was lamenting the loss of a true sense of national pride. The working class no longer had a say in the foreign policy or decisions made by the government as a whole. The reverberating chorus of "Born in the U.S.A." was a cry of longing, of sorrow. It was a hollow cry of patriotism that once was, but now ceased to exist.[3]
In Springsteen’s own words, the song "Born in the U.S.A." is about "a working-class man" [in the midst of a] "spiritual crisis, in which man is left lost...It's like he has nothing left to tie him into society anymore. He's isolated from the government. Isolated from his family...to the point where nothing makes sense." [3] Springsteen promotes the fact that the endless search for truth is the true American way.[7] He was frightened by the government continually rationalizing the Vietnam War.[citation needed]"

Again, you're being disingenuous. The quoted section is from Rolling Stone Magazine and not Springsteen's own words; it's the writer's opinion and everyone knows Rolling Stone is very left wing. You deleted the opening reference to Rolling Stone which preceded the quote to make people think it was Springsteen's own opinion and no one else’s. Again, not cool.

I'll just agree to disagree and won't go back and forth. You can have the last word.

 

[Vtwin]

I broke up a fight between Warren Haynes and some other guy once.

Haynes was playing with Gov't Mule and they played a "Blues Cruise" on a ferry cruising around the lake. They took a break between sets and Warren was taking a leak a few urinals down the row from me. Drunk comes in and says something to Warren and Haynes snapped back at him. The drunk said something else and Haynes turned around and stepped right up to him hands in fists. The drunk wasn't about to back down so I and another guy stepped in and calmed them both down.

The Mule started their next set and Haynes cut the first song off and apologized to the guy for being a richard.

A few years later I saw Gov't Mule again in an auditorium. It was mentioned that it was Warrens's birthday and me and my buddy started singing happy birthday. The rest of the crowd joined in and sang to the band.

 

[Vtwin]

Freddie Mercury and Queen.

Sept 21st 1980...Cleveland

I got a drumstick from that tour in Montreal. Both of them hit me right in the chest but was only able to hang on to one

 

[CowboyDan]

Maybe you have Dan but he didn't use it in his concerts during the Born in the USA Tour. He didn't use any political overtones in his follow-up albums, including Tunnel of Love and his Live multi-disk album. On the contrary, all his monologues that I remember from his live album were about life, his youth, his Dad, etc. There weren't any political pot shots that I can remember.


Maybe his recent albums, yes, which was my initial point; but to say the bulk of them is way out there.



Dan, you're being very disingenuous here. The part that I bolded was not in the article you referenced and was inserted by you to further prop up your point. Not cool, especially since you didn't identify the inserted section as your own thoughts/beliefs/opinion. He didn't endorse Walter Mondale later so does that mean he was a conservative? You further cherry picked the article and left out some key points, namely the following from Wikipedia:

"While in past years Springsteen had played benefits for causes in which he believed – against nuclear energy, for Vietnam veterans, Amnesty International, and the Christic Institute – he had always refrained from explicitly endorsing candidates for political office (indeed he had rejected the efforts of Walter Mondale to attract an endorsement during the 1984 Reagan "Born in the U.S.A." flap)."

"American conservative columnist George Will, after attending a show, wrote in September 1984 that Springsteen was an exemplar of classic American values. He wrote: "I have not got a clue about Springsteen's politics, if any, but flags get waved at his concerts while he sings songs about hard times. He is no whiner, and the recitation of closed factories and other problems always seems punctuated by a grand, cheerful affirmation: 'Born in the U.S.A.!'"

-If Springsteen's concerts were 1/3 political rally, as you claim, then wouldn't George Will, a conservative columnist whom you referred to in your post, have observed it or realized it after he attended a concert? On the contrary, George Will specifically stated that he had no clue about Springsteen's politics after attending a show.




Again, you're being disingenuous. The quoted section is from Rolling Stone Magazine and not Springsteen's own words; it's the writer's opinion and everyone knows Rolling Stone is very left wing. You deleted the opening reference to Rolling Stone which preceded the quote to make people think it was Springsteen's own opinion and no one else’s. Again, not cool.

I'll just agree to disagree and won't go back and forth. You can have the last word.

Let me start by saying that I am wrong about the "1/3". That was a mistake I made in paraphrasing. Bruce uses the term "part", not "1/3".

I didn't insert anything into any of the above quotes. They are quotes, from Wikipedia, to give you background on the history of the Born in the USA song. You don't have to agree with what the guy who wrote it says, but don't tell me I inserted it or I'm being disingenuous. It represents my feelings well enough that I thought it appropriate for our discussion.

And the bulk of his songs do have political tones to them. I didn't say that the bulk of his songs are protest songs. I said they have political tones to them. If you don't think so, then you aren't paying attention.

As for your Tunnel of Love reference, for every Tunnel of Love there's a Nebraska (which was written in 1982), Ghost of Tom Joad & Devils and Dust.
Also, songs like "Factory" on Darkness on the Edge of Town, or Somthing in the Night, Streets of Fire, Promised Land and Badlands for that matter all have political tones to them. (ie. workers rights, governmental influence on the middle class, the economy). The River has some too.

You mention the Live 75 - 85 box set, which is the same box set that I referenced, (Born in the USA was released in 1984), where he tells stories of "blind faith in your leaders", the horrors of war and the draft, and even does a Woody Guthrie cover "This Land is Your Land", which is a famous protest song, written in response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America".

I'm glad you're a fan, I'm not trying to get you to hate him. I just think there's more in his music than you realize.

 

[CowboyDan]

I broke up a fight between Warren Haynes and some other guy once.

Haynes was playing with Gov't Mule and they played a "Blues Cruise" on a ferry cruising around the lake. They took a break between sets and Warren was taking a leak a few urinals down the row from me. Drunk comes in and says something to Warren and Haynes snapped back at him. The drunk said something else and Haynes turned around and stepped right up to him hands in fists. The drunk wasn't about to back down so I and another guy stepped in and calmed them both down.

The Mule started their next set and Haynes cut the first song off and apologized to the guy for being a richard.

A few years later I saw Gov't Mule again in an auditorium. It was mentioned that it was Warrens's birthday and me and my buddy started singing happy birthday. The rest of the crowd joined in and sang to the band.

Awesome story! Gov't Mule is so good, I really like that band!

 

[JIMMYBUFFETT]

I broke up a fight between Warren Haynes and some other guy once.

Haynes was playing with Gov't Mule and they played a "Blues Cruise" on a ferry cruising around the lake. They took a break between sets and Warren was taking a leak a few urinals down the row from me. Drunk comes in and says something to Warren and Haynes snapped back at him. The drunk said something else and Haynes turned around and stepped right up to him hands in fists. The drunk wasn't about to back down so I and another guy stepped in and calmed them both down.

The Mule started their next set and Haynes cut the first song off and apologized to the guy for being a richard.

A few years later I saw Gov't Mule again in an auditorium. It was mentioned that it was Warrens's birthday and me and my buddy started singing happy birthday. The rest of the crowd joined in and sang to the band.

I love the Mule. I've been trying to catch one of their shows for a few years now with no luck. I saw Warren play once with the Allman Brothers, and once with David Allan Coe. I'd really like to catch him again.

 

[Concord]

I got a drumstick from that tour in Montreal. Both of them hit me right in the chest but was only able to hang on to one

Nice.