My first rock concert was The Monkees, in Des Moines, 1967. I was in the 8th grade. R.I.P. Davy Jones

I saw The Monkees in Myrtle Beach about 18 or so years ago--no Mike Nesmith by then, though. However, I really do appreciate his family's correction fluid. I remember Davy sharing little anecdotes with the audience and being very funny. I didn't know about The Monkees until the 1980s, but I was instantly hooked. I was really saddened today to hear of Davy Jones's death.
Susan

Although my first rock concert was Jethro Tull's Aqualung Tour, I was hooked on The Monkees way before then. Yes, I have all of their albums, know all the lyrics, wish that I would have saved all my Tiger Beat magazines. Listening to my friend's older brother's Beatle's 45's just got me started..... The Monkee's ruined me forever and propelled me into Bleaker Street, Saturday Night Concerts on TV, Cowtown Ballroom and ultimately a devoted fan of live music ala Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks.
RIP Davy Jones. Thanks for the memories.

I just saw a program on his life and career on the Biography Channel a few weeks ago. What a drag. We just never know, do we? My first "name brand" rock concert was VANILLA FUDGE! First live band? A local group (Hattiesburg, MS) called James & the James Gang. They played a "White Levis Party" event promoting jeans at a local department store(Waldoff's on Pine) in an UNAIR CONDITIONED part of the building! Steamy but, oh so cool. Some real gone dancers, too. I remember they played "I Need You" by the Beatles. I was impressed. WW

Never saw the Monkees but loved the show in the sixties. I think the songs have improved with age. First Rock show was Argent. We all sat cross legged on the floor for most of it.

My first concert - Danny Gatton and the Fat Boys in the Gymnasium of Winston Churchill High School. Great start, huh? I was hooked. First Big show - Beach Boys/Chicago at the local arenaplex. Never saw the Monkees, but love the fact that Jimi Hendrix was their opening act for their 67' tour!

My first concert was Elvis Presley, July 23, 1976, in Louisville.

http://hunter.goatley.com/concerts/1976-07-23-elvis.html

I loved watching reruns of THE MONKEES in the early '70s. And Davy's appearance on THE BRADY BUNCH was topped only by his cameo in THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE!

Hunter

First concert was in fall of 1972. Sha Na Na at the Naval Academy field house. Pretty funny to hear Bowser address an audience of mostly midshipmen as "f*ckin' hippies".

Next was summer, '74. Saw Sharks (Chris Spedding on guitar) open for Roxy Music. Saw Roxy Music 30 years later with Chris Spedding having joined them for the tour on 2nd guitar.

>> And Davy's appearance on THE BRADY BUNCH was topped
>> only by his cameo in THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE!

Don't forget being a guest star on Scooby Doo!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxVkyN4KqZo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdM3PT2W7Lg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDxBAzSUL3w

On a van ride not too long ago, Bob and I came out as rabid Monkees fans. Their TV show was always a highlight of my week. I still have (and love) their records and their songs were staples in my first garage band's repertoire, especially 'Steppin' Stone'! RIP, Davy.

One of the interesting things about the arc of their brief career was the way it framed arguments about validity in popular culture in such vivid detail. Although derided by many as a manufactured product, they possessed unmistakable charisma and talent. That they didn't write the songs or play on their records (at first) made them no different from many of their contemporaries, and in retrospect they were the beneficiaries of some of the greatest songwriting and instrumental talent of the day. Their later struggle to gain more control illustrated the perennial problem faced by artists seeking to negotiate a balance between self-expression and commerce as they tried to remain viable in the face of rapidly changing definitions of 'cool'.

My first real arena concert featured Strawberry Alarm Clock, Bobby Goldboro, Buffalo Springfield, and The Beach Boys. This was during the time The Monkees were on TV, and also highlighted the changes taking place in pop music. Buffalo Springfield were just coming out and were the coolest thing I'd ever seen with their eclectic style and non-showbiz attitude, while headliners The Beach Boys had just released the groundbreaking "Good Vibrations", but were still dressing in matching striped shirts and black slacks. The times they were a-changin'!

Sometime prior to this show, there was a week-long Teen Expo held at the convention hall in Fort Worth, and The Doors, who had just released 'Light My Fire', were going to play! Huge fan that I was, I begged and pleaded to go, but got the thumbs down. My parents did relent and let me go on another day, where I saw local faves The Crowd + One (the singer later went on to form Bloodrock- his little brother was a drummer in one of my garage bands), and get ready for it, Webb Fans- The Electric Prunes, playing their hit, 'I Had Too Much To Dream'! They were great! I stood there in awe just a few feet away watching them play on a foot-high temporary stage in the midst of all the exhibits of teen-oriented goods, badly burned by the realization that I could have seen The #*^@#*! Doors in the same setting!

It's kind of mind-boggling the vast historical music eras/band/events experienced by members and musicians on this Board. Love reading others' stories.

Amen, Lndfay! The closest I ever got to seeing The Monkees was a few years ago when Mickey Dolenz played after us at a festival in Oswego, NY. We had just pulled our gear off the stage when the clouds parted, but being the trooper that he is, he went on with the show as the crowd ran for cover, and he was really good!

First concert was Creedence back in '71. They were a trio back then and the magic was gone. I left that concert so bummed and I had a feeling they would not be around much longer. Wished I seen them before Tom Fogerty left.

My first rock and roll show was George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers. Awesome high energy show!!!!

I don't know if this qualifies as Rock but I saw Johnny Cash back in 1968 and then the James Gang with Joe Walsh shortly after that.
As an aside regarding the Monkeys: I read where, on one of their tours, they had Jimi Hendrix as an opening act. A guitar-humping Hendrix did not set too well with some of the 12 year old girls and their moms in the audience and Hendrix soon left the tour. Hendrix was a personal friend of Peter Tork.

Cash in '68 would have been real cool. The James Gang! Also very cool. I kinda blew it back in the day with them. Didn't have a ticket. As I stood outside the venue where they were playing and listened, I relaized they were really good! Oh well, at least I heard 'em a little bit. When "Funk 49" hit the airwaves, it was a game changer and a breath of fresh air cuz it was fun as opposed to dark and haevy. WW

I saw Def Leppard as my first concert - yeah, yeah I know but all my teen years were spent in the 80's. It was actually a great show with Tesla as the opening act.
I also saw the Monkees on a reunion tour in the 90's when I believe they were all together -- and it was a great concert, I enjoyed it from start to finish.... fun to watch and they played their own instruments.... LOL ... but played them well. Good show.

E

My parents were huge Johnny Cash fans, and he was playing on some show circuit that brought him around to Peoria on a regular basis, so I got to see him many times, as a child. The shows included lots of other acts like Minnie Pearl, the Carter Family, and one I really liked, The Statler Bros. Others I don't remember, I was young. Also saw Johnny C at some state or county fairs. My mom always had me go get his autograph for her.

I love it when Webb plays some JC songs, both have great voices.

Linda you know what -- truth is my first actualy concert was probably the Statler Brothers at the Fair... my parents loved them so naturally that was the night we went to the fair. Thanks for that memory - I liked them too.
"... smokin cigartettes and watchin capt'n kangaroo ... now don't tell me, I got nothing to do...."

E

Well, since I lived in Orlando, Florida growing up, pickings were slim unless you liked The Nuge. Honestly, he played so many "Rock Superbowls" at the Tangerine Bowl that I thought he lived in Central Florida! It was strictly beef [Molly Hatchet] and cheese [Styx] rock that thrived in Tourist Central. With the New Wave sounds that I gravitated to scarce in the South, it remained until I saw Joe Jackson in 1983 as my first rock concert [finally!] at the ripe old age of 20. Even so, Florida seemed to be the last place that acts I enjoyed ever ventured to. It remained until new promoters began to get a handle on this new "Punk Rock" thing by the late 80s that my concert-going life really started to happen. Heck, I didn't see WW until '93! I can remember that since the Watermelon CD of ICFN had just been released and I got one at the swag table of the Downtown Jazz & Blues Club appearance.

Chicago. 1975. Terry Kath rocked. The Cate Brothers opened. Speaking of the Monkees, my favorite scene in the Monkees "Head" motion picture is where creepy character actor Timothy Carey gives Mike a 'Thattaboy." The funniest/weirdest 60 seconds of 1968 cinema.

My first "rock" concert was KISS on one of their several farewell tours. I famously purchased a KISS FAREWELL TOUR 2003 shirt. The show was in 2004.

My second rock show was none other than TLOTFGM.

Hey, I remember those! :-)
And Weird Al Yankovic was early on your list, too, was it not?
BTW, for those who've never seen a Weird Al show, it's a flat-out good time!

Weird Al was actually first, but calling that a "rock" show in the theme of this thread is a stretch.

You say to-mah-to ...

On the one hand, Gump, Smells Like Nirvana (with its CLASSIC gargled guitar solo), Bedrock Anthem

On the other hand, covers of Madonna, Michael Jackson ... not to mention polkas

Semantics, I guess :-)

Well, here goes... (BTW, The terms "Rock" and "show" is going to be, well, stretched and bruised in this post, so go easy on me. There's a bit of confession here. Let's just say I'm hanging my hat more on "first" and a little less on "rock". )

It was the late 70's or early 80's, I don't remember. I was 11, maybe 12. There were parents, a weekend, and a State Fair involved.

I don't know, maybe it was the heat and humidity, maybe it was the Funnel Cakes, maybe there was just too much fun had at the tractor pulls. I'm not really sure. Being just over a decade old, I wasn't exactly in charge of decisions pertaining to the spreading of the entertainment dollars.

First night - Conway Twitty.

Second night - (oh man) Air Supply.

(sigh) Yeah. I know.

On cold days, I can still feel the whiplash from that 24 hour genre mash-up some thirty years later.

I tried, but no amount of Corn dogs, or side show freaks helped. Air Supply had some smoke and "lasers"(?) and a rotating stage, none of which helped. There were T-shirts, but even at that young of an age, I knew there was no coming back from that if one was worn. Or even purchased. Conway Twitty saved me from forever having to confess Air Supply was my first concert ever when the question is asked.

Is that a good thing?

I'm sorry, folks. It is what it is. And I have to admit, I do feel a little better getting this off my chest.

HOWEVER, a few years later, I made up for it big time. I got to go on a group trip to the UK, and I had the amazing honor to see Queen at Wembley Stadium. I'll never forget it.

And, now that I'm in control of my own entertainment dollars, my list of Rock shows has grown to a pretty respectable list.

PS. My friend is in the 501st Star Wars thing, and he has been on stage several times in full gear for Weird Al's Jedi song during his concerts. He says Weird Al is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

I guess my first rock concert was POCO in...1969? They were awesome, just like the Deliverin' album.
Alice Cooper was one of the earliest, a show at the St. Louis Arena Annex that ended up on a CD in a semi-recent Cooper Deluxe Package. I think PG&E and Dust opened.
My Esteemed Wife started going to shows at a very early age, when my parents would never have allowed it. They lived in Southern California at the time and she saw a bunch of stuff including the first ever Rolling Stones show in the USA...

...in that case, I hereby declare PammyLee the winner, with kudos to Lndfay for the great thread!

Late 60s, Humble Pie.

Not really rock but pop..The Beatles, August 1965.