George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic was my first concert. I saw it on my college campus. George's guitarist wore a diaper on stage and everybody was stoned like a whore.
Godsmack (opened by Puddle of Mudd and Deftones) circa Summer, 2001 , Columbus, OH's Polaris Amphitheater. I knew one, maybe two songs by Godsmack, and Puddle of Mudd hadn't become popular yet. Lydia said she had an extra ticket so I went with her and some guy who hates Fords.
The Juliana Theory at The Grog Shop in Cleveland and again at some little bar in Pittsburgh. Whiny emo before they hit their fifteen minutes of fame, I had a great time with Brian and my pleather pants.
They Might Be Giants, on the lawn at Oberlin College, some pretty spring day with Brian W. We listened to the Steve Miller Band on the way out and stopped for SoBe. The lead singer had us Conga and swore at us because there were some people being mean to him. It was a good time.
The Blue Man Group, late college, Cleveland State's Convention Center with grand team A&A. Steve and I got tickets after they got theirs and we wound up with better seats. It was unfair. Openers were Tracy Bonham and Venus Hum.
Dave Matthews Band in San Antonio, TX with Max. The concert was amazing, and as awkward as the conversations were before and after, I had a good time at the family reunion and closing my eyes and absorbing the music. I have a thing for the fiddler in Dave's band. I'm pretty sure I wore shorts.
Jethro Tull in Albany, NY. This was a complete disaster, because Steve and I were late driving in and then got lost. We walked in to see "Bouree" and then left to find my other friends, who went in to see the second half of the show. I was so embarrassed for being late and making them miss everything and then missing everything myself. The ensuing weekend of games and Indian food was a blast, though. A truly humbling experience.
Willie Nelson opened for Bob Dylan in August, 2005, I think. What a fun concert outside at a little baseball field northeast of Cleveland proper. I took Steve, my mom, and my brother. I knew all the Willie songs, and he played everything I wanted except "Railroad Lady." There was pot everywhere and Mama had four beers "because she was thirsty." Bob got on and didn't say a word to anybody, just rocked out with crazy versions of his crazy songs. It was amazing!
Andrew and Amanda decided to go see Nine Inch Nails maybe two months later, and I dragged my brother along. Queens of the Stoneage (and some other band that wasn't impressive) opened for them. Queens are a good band but their sound on stage was awful. Trent was absolutely amazing, though. I wasn't a NIN fan before the concert, really, but I am now.