I suppose many of us have been to a music concert before. But the fact is, some concerts are much better than others. Being a guitar player and loving music as I do , I've been to several shows in my lifetime. Some massive. Some little. Some with well known rock stars. And some with new groups on the way up.
Here's some of the finest concerts I have seen and some things I learned about attending a performance along the way.
Larger Isn't Invariably Better
I've been to some very big shows, including the mother of all concerts Woodstock. Although that show was excellent, the undeniable fact that it was massive wasn't the reason why I enjoyed it. It's potentially the incontrovertible fact that Woodstock was out of control that made it engaging and fun. The chaos surrounding the over-crowded, food-less, no-place-to-go-to-the-bathroom scene, was what made it memorable. We all made the very best of an awkward situation. We all subliminally agreed to make is something not one of us would ever forget. I think that's an important lesson.
As far as surprising smaller shows, one of the greatest performances I saw was Little Feat at my varsity, University of Massachusetts, back around 1974. The band wasn't yet popular and the concert was attended only by a couple of hundred folk, though it was obvious this was a great band on the way up. The concert was held in the Student Union Ballroom. It might possibly hold less than 500-600 people when full.
And this room held many performances while I was at school there in the 60's and 70's. I also saw Jonathan Edwards, Bo Diddley, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Hound Dog Taylor in this hall, among many others.
Another small show that was memorable for me was seeing The Nazz at The Tea Party in Boston. The Nazz was Todd Rundgren's first band and, like many bands I loved, were not super well-liked but had some great tunes. They had Hello It's Me which later would be re-done by Todd Rundgren as a solo artist and be a massive hit for him. At the time, Nazz was up and coming and that concert was attended by less than 20 folk. I believe the band was a bit disappointed, but still put on a brilliant concert.
My First Concert
If you adore music you never forget your first large live performance. Mine was seeing The Kingsmen at The Surf in Nantasket Beach slightly to the south of Boston in around 1965. The Kingsmen had the giant garage rock hit, Louie Louie, so definitely seeing them was special. But even this show was relatively tiny. The Surf only held around 1000 folks. Today a band with a hit like that will be playing to 30-40,000 people at a show.
But most of my live shows back then were in small clubs seeing local or regional bands. Still those shows were always notable to me and a very big part of why I wanted to be a musician.
So over the years I saw many concerts. Here's a couple of the highlights I remember...
- The Allman Brothers at Orpheum in Boston around 1971.
- Boz Scaggs, Curtis Mayfield and Brewer and Shipley at an external UMass concert in 1970.
- Allman Bros and Bonnie Raitt at UMass Alumni Stadium in about 1980. What was special about this day was both The Allman's and Bonnie Raitt showed up and jammed with NRBQ later that night at a small club called The Rusty Nail in Hadley Mass.
- Any NRBQ show at The Rusty Nail.
- B.B. King Live at the NAMM show playing to about 20 people in a back room. (Don't get me going about the performances I saw at the National Association of Music Merchant's conventions)
OK I could go on for a long time, I have seen so many great concerts. Hope that inspires you to make your own list of your favourite concerts.
Here's some of the finest concerts I have seen and some things I learned about attending a performance along the way.
Larger Isn't Invariably Better
I've been to some very big shows, including the mother of all concerts Woodstock. Although that show was excellent, the undeniable fact that it was massive wasn't the reason why I enjoyed it. It's potentially the incontrovertible fact that Woodstock was out of control that made it engaging and fun. The chaos surrounding the over-crowded, food-less, no-place-to-go-to-the-bathroom scene, was what made it memorable. We all made the very best of an awkward situation. We all subliminally agreed to make is something not one of us would ever forget. I think that's an important lesson.
As far as surprising smaller shows, one of the greatest performances I saw was Little Feat at my varsity, University of Massachusetts, back around 1974. The band wasn't yet popular and the concert was attended only by a couple of hundred folk, though it was obvious this was a great band on the way up. The concert was held in the Student Union Ballroom. It might possibly hold less than 500-600 people when full.
And this room held many performances while I was at school there in the 60's and 70's. I also saw Jonathan Edwards, Bo Diddley, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Hound Dog Taylor in this hall, among many others.
Another small show that was memorable for me was seeing The Nazz at The Tea Party in Boston. The Nazz was Todd Rundgren's first band and, like many bands I loved, were not super well-liked but had some great tunes. They had Hello It's Me which later would be re-done by Todd Rundgren as a solo artist and be a massive hit for him. At the time, Nazz was up and coming and that concert was attended by less than 20 folk. I believe the band was a bit disappointed, but still put on a brilliant concert.
My First Concert
If you adore music you never forget your first large live performance. Mine was seeing The Kingsmen at The Surf in Nantasket Beach slightly to the south of Boston in around 1965. The Kingsmen had the giant garage rock hit, Louie Louie, so definitely seeing them was special. But even this show was relatively tiny. The Surf only held around 1000 folks. Today a band with a hit like that will be playing to 30-40,000 people at a show.
But most of my live shows back then were in small clubs seeing local or regional bands. Still those shows were always notable to me and a very big part of why I wanted to be a musician.
So over the years I saw many concerts. Here's a couple of the highlights I remember...
- The Allman Brothers at Orpheum in Boston around 1971.
- Boz Scaggs, Curtis Mayfield and Brewer and Shipley at an external UMass concert in 1970.
- Allman Bros and Bonnie Raitt at UMass Alumni Stadium in about 1980. What was special about this day was both The Allman's and Bonnie Raitt showed up and jammed with NRBQ later that night at a small club called The Rusty Nail in Hadley Mass.
- Any NRBQ show at The Rusty Nail.
- B.B. King Live at the NAMM show playing to about 20 people in a back room. (Don't get me going about the performances I saw at the National Association of Music Merchant's conventions)
OK I could go on for a long time, I have seen so many great concerts. Hope that inspires you to make your own list of your favourite concerts.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a longtime blues guitar player. He teaches blues guitar on his website and writes about live shows like seeing B.B. King live.
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