Good afternoon, how’s your day? Today’s time waster builds off of last week’s “musical” theme. I’ve been a popular music aficionado the majority of my life. My first year of college was at ABAC and I had a weekly 3-hour show on the campus radio station, WABR. Pumping a full 10 watts of power that barely covered the campus! But, it was very fun. When I went to ATL for my final 2 years of college at GA State, I tried to get into the GA State radio station but, alas, I had no success there. So, I went another route and I was a mobile DJ from 1986 up until around 2008. I played everything from birthday parties, reunions, proms, homecomings, wedding receptions (hell I even “ran” a few weddings because they had no one in charge and I’d pretty much learned the flow of a ceremony), bars, clubs, ran karaoke nights at several establishments. Finally packed it in around ’08 when the extra money just wasn’t worth the squeeze anymore. I used to tell people, you’re not paying me to entertain, you’re paying me to haul, setup and breakdown my gear. Playing music is the easy part.
Switching gears a bit, another musical activity I enjoy is seeing live shows. The first concert I ever attended without my parents was February 18, 1983. Me and 3 buddies piled into my Little Blue Vette (Chevette), with a cooler of hunch punch in the hatchback. We drove from Sylvester, to the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center to see Prince, The Time and Vanity 6 on Prince’s 1999 tour, called the Triple-Threat tour. Since then, I attended numerous Prince concerts right up to his very last performance at the Fabulous Fox Theater in 2016. Saw him at what I consider my first ever concert and saw him perform his final concert so, kinda closed that loop.
So, do you still attend live shows? What artists have you seen live the most? Who are you seeing next? My Top 5, by the number of times I have seen them, are represented by the ticket stubs.
What’s your list?
I was at that 1988 Prince show at the Omni, and it was probably the best concert I’ve ever seen.
Apart from that, I’m a basic frat boy, so I saw Buffett, Drivin ‘n Cryin’, Violent Femmes and REM multiple times each. DnC at the Fox in the summer of 1989 was another incredible show. It was their first concert back in ATL after they got big.
Went to the same hs as Tim Nielsen .. the first true “punk” I saw. I was an 8th or 9th grader when he was a senior. His younger brother was year ahead of me in high school. Through a planning mixup, the prom our junior year was a total cluster. Senior parents organized an “alternative” one downtown and Nielsen got his new band together to play.
My favorites Kinchafoonee Cowboys at the theatre who knows how many times, Allman brothers at Lakewood, INXS at the Omni, Buffett at Lakewood and REM at the Macon Coliseum.
Biggest letdown – George Jones at Cowboys in the late 90s. Played 3 songs and left.
I regret never seeing David Allen Coe at the theatre while in school.
GR, why you think they called him “The Possum”. Surprised he showed at all.
You didn’t miss much with DAC. Saw him around 91 or 92. He and the wife(?) were fighting and it showed. Played less than an hour obviously pissed off at her and the rest of the band. Finally stormed off stage and left.
The WORST show I ever saw was Bob Dylan at Stegeman around the same time. Combine the worst accoustics in the world, with the worst singer in the world, and you get the picture…
Totally agree on the Bob Dylan live was also my most disappointing concert.
I’m a Dylan freak, but his concerts are a challenge. I think he plays in a way he finds interesting on that particular night. I’ve seen several, but I’m always the only one in my group that enjoys it.
However, the last time I saw him was at the Macon Colliseum a few years ago. For whatever reason, he seemed to be in a crowd pleasing mood, and it was awesome. I decided I would never go to another of his shows, because it would never be better than that night.
Saw DAC at the Theater, strangest crowd I’ve ever been in. Bikers, hippies, townies, country folk, and frat boys. Everybody got along just fine, especially to “Longhaired Redneck”…we were living the lyrics:
“Where bikers stare at cowboys who are laughing at the hippies
Who are praying they’ll get outta here alive”
Loved that song too. Funny thing DAC wore a wig back then. In his prime he could imitate almost any singer he chose too.
I saw DAC with George Jones in Atlanta great show of course George left the building during an encore with DAC. Coe was outstanding live at both of Alex Cooley’s ballroom locations. Last I saw DAC I was very disappointed years later. Nothing like the 80’s version.
Kinchafoonee was a must for us when I was at UGA, and we did see one DAC show, but he made it about three songs. Agree on the crowd, we were never frat kids but we also weren’t townies, just normies. Fortunately, we weren’t polarizing enough to get into any trouble with anyone.
I used to work with Glenn’s brother Dave.
Saw a few, some l remember, some l don’t!! Saw Otis Redding Coming Home Show at Macon Coliseum, with Betty Swan, Arthur Conley and the Barclays!! That was great. Too old now for the crowds. Did see Dwight couple of times!! He puts on a great show!!
Impressed you still have all of those stubs, Otis…
I’m a pack rat. Spent lots of time around my sweet Granny growing up. A product of the depression, she never threw much of anything away. Guess I picked that up from her.
My first was at the Dothan civic center. Saw Elvin Bishop (Mickey Thomas from Cairo had the big hit “Fooled around and feel in love”) I was from Thomasville and had a buddy who knew his sister well, went to his house a couple of times) Dr. Hook was the main attraction. I think I was 15 and went with my cousin. I thought I was big stuff.
Bands I saw in Dothan at the Cow Palace (stock yards) and at the Civic Center … White Witch, Heart, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, Johnny Winter. Charlie Daniels, Elvin Bishop, Steppenwolf. Dothan was a rockin’ city in the 70’s.
White Witch. I don’t think I’ve heard that band name in over 50 years. Thanks for that memory.
You can find their music on YouTube. Enjoy
First time I ever heard the name Mickey Thomas… was listening to American Top 40 and Casey Kasem told us about the newest member of Jefferson Starship from Cairo, GA. My ears perked right up at that.
Elvin Bishop wasn’t good looking but he sure could play.
I’m into hard rock, but I’m insanely jealous you got to see Prince so often. I got the Purple Rain vinyl for my birthday in ’85, and even though I shifted to more aggressive music, I’ve always had great appreciation for his talent.
I’ve seen Alice in Chains, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Chevelle, AC/DC, Nine Inch Nails, Korn (hence my handle,) Garth Brooks, Guns ‘n Roses, Tool, Sevendust and countless support acts, along with a few festivals (Carolina Rebellion, etc.) We used to get decent shows in Augusta, maybe with the new arena bigger acts will consider coming here again.
As far as who I’ve seen the most, probably Chevelle. Tool, Bon Jovi, The Crue, AiC, Korn, and Sevendust I’ve seen twice each.
I need to add that Bon Jovi and Motley Crue were in the 80’s, when they were actually solid live acts.
Meant to mention going to see Percy Sledge. One of the best ones I saw. That man had a set of Pipes! Saw Waylon and Foreigner in Tallahassee. Lover Boy, Frampton, Eddie Money, Chicago, REO. Hell, at one time, I was on a roll. Guess I saw Jefferson Starship the most, probably 4 or 5 times.
Saw Percy at a little dive here in Clear Lake (The Hop). He played “When a Man Loves a Woman” three times, I think. He knew where his bread was buttered. Great show.
Yeah, that was a great one but “Out left Field, My Special Prayer, Dark end of the street” Heck, they were all good. Like I said, that dude could sing.
Ray Stevens was my very first show at the ripe old age of 4 at the local high school auditorium in 1975. I was disappointed he didn’t sing “Moonlight Special”. Saw him 3 times live over the years. Never got a “Moonlight Special” with the old Sheepdog!
Been to about 30 Widespread Panic shows to lead the way; R.E.M., Drivin’nCryin’, John Cougar, Jimmy Buffett 3 times apiece. Saw the Stones in Atlanta the last time they came through at Mark Richt Field (only time
I’ve ever set foot in there). The best show I ever saw was The Eagles in Orlando, with Jimmy Buffett opening for them and Vince Gill and Glenn Frey’s son playing with them.
You over paid for those ZZ Top tickets😇 I’ve got a stub that I believe was $5.00 early 70’s. That was premium pricing then. I paid …. way more than I want to say to see them twice last year. Even with a new bass player they are amazingly still great.
My first concert was 1969 Johnny Winter at Pirates World Florida. Quickly followed by the Amboy Dukes featuring a very young Ted Nugent. Dad was transferred to Fort McPherson in 71 when he came home. Atlanta was an amazing place for music then. Mother’s Finest free by the pool I wish I could remember the name of the apartment complex. Lake Spivey I thought Tina Turner was unbelievably sexy. Yeah ZZ Top was there too. Skynyrd and Nugent at Richard’s pre Alex Cooley’s ballroom.
Loved Mother’s Finest. Went on a college road trip to see them in Jacksonville with the Whispers. Got there and they had cancelled. Talk about being PO. Of course that was before cell phones. Whispers were really good though so it wasn’t a wasted trip.
Mother’s Finest would put fantastic shows, some of the best I’ve ever seen. They would do NYE shows in Atlanta.
I rarely partook of the devil’s lettuce but for some reason I did this one night. I was so paranoid that I just knew everyone was looking at me because I was stoned. Went to buy popcorn for the munchies. It was something like a $1 or less for a small bag, but all I had was a $20. I hate buying small items with larger bills, and in my paranoid state I was frozen. The cute lady serving asked what I wanted and I went into a ramble about not wanting to buy something for a $1 with a larger bill and take all her change, but it took me what seemed like 5 minutes to get that out. She looked at me like I was crazy and said “so…you want change?” I said yes. She gave me change, and I left without my popcorn.
Great show, though.
They did either two or three straight years a NY eve show at the Fox. Amazing shows each one.
Russ,
Never knew who that guy was I was staring at 😉 You didn’t need to smoke anything just breathing would get you a good buzz.
Did you live at Fort Mac? I grew up near there and used to sneak on base to play tennis. This was in the mid 70’s.
Back on topic, first show I ever saw was Eric Clapton at the Omni on his comeback tour from heroin in 1974. I still have the t-shirt. Shows were cheaper than albums back then so I’d go see the artist first to see if I wanted to spring for the album. In high school, saw lots of shows at the Omni, Municipal Auditorium, and Fox. One week at the Municipal Auditorium, they had on separate nights ELO when they were just getting noticed, Ten Years After, and Black Sabbath (with Frampton opening). I didn’t see Ten Years After but the other two shows were awesome.
I worked at Rich’s if anyone remembers them, and my buddy worked the Ticketron window, so he’d get me great seat (I had to pay, of course). Saw Zeppelin in 1977 front row at the Omni. Saw Santana (with Dixie Dregs opening) 2nd row at the Fox. He offered me front row seats to see the Cockroaches at the Fox but neither of us knew who that was so I turned them down. Turned out to be the Stones. I didn’t see them live until their last tour (Hackney Diamonds) and they still put on a great show.
Love me some live music. Last show I saw was 2 weeks ago. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. He will be 91 next month and still put on a great show.
BTW, I used to have a stack of all my tickets and reviews cut out of the paper, but my parents moved and threw it all out before I got around to rescuing it.
We never lived on base. Dad was stationed there his last eight years.
Was the Eric Clapton show you mentioned open with Muddy Waters? That was a great show I remember Clapton refusing to play Layla.
Looks like we attended some of the same shows. Loved Ten Years After saw them a few times and the Sabbath with Frampton too. I stood in line overnight to buy my Cockroaches tickets. Still have my half ticket stub. Too bad the show wasn’t very good.
The Rich’s at Greenbriar mall was my go to spot for tickets. They always had great seats on the first day no lines. I worked at downtown Rich’s for Christmas 72 & 73.
The Pink Pig!
Well shit! I worked at downtown Rich’s 75-78 or so. I was a stock boy, but mainly flirted with the sales ladies.
My sister ran special events there. One year at Christmas home from UGA, I was Richie bear in that awful costume. I still haven’t regained the weight I sweated off in that thing.
I remember when Greenbriar opened. It was a big deal, and had the first ever Chick-fil-A in a mall.
I remember Rich’s. Blast from past.
TripleB
Lol, still a little off topic but I wanted to post about music somewhere. I popped open a can of Coke Zero, and immediately the opening rift to “Hell no I Ain’t Happy” came to mind. I saw the Truckers in Tahoe once and Patterson popped a beer by the mic to start the song and a spirited rendition followed.
I’ve seen the Black Crowes 7/8 times I’d guess. One of my faves.
Seen the RHCP 3 times, remember 2 of them(hey Snoop opened, cut me some slack). Once in Vegas.
One of the best shows one time was Kevin Kenny acoustic – just him and a guitar and a table, chair & lamp on the table. Got to meet him one time after a different show.
My first show was the Foo Fighters at the Mascaraed in ‘95.
One of the worst was the Stones. Sound was horrible in Turner Field. I’ve seen No Doubt open twice – the Stones and 311. That’s funny to me for some reason.
The Cure-2. U2-2. Popmart tour was the most I’ve ever seen as far as production goes. Pearl Jam – 2. Smashing Pumpkins-2. The Pixies – 2. Many many others. Love going to live shows. These days I catch a lot of cover bands cuz hey man, they play the hits and I’m one helluva singer after enough beers.
Good friends dad worked for the omni. He got free tickets to all the music shows.
Saw 10 years after, Clapton, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull twice, spooky tooth, humble pie, too many more to name. Deep purple, and ZZ TOP was the warm up band. Got called back for two encores!
LED ZEPPELIN in Atlanta Stadium. Acoustics were horrible….
Damn Gic, that connection was strong.
New Orleans Radiators! Them boys is getting long in the tooth but still rocking.
Saw The Band several dozen times, the first being 1974 Wembley Stadium. I was in the USAF. Stellar entertainers! But they all died on me, Garth checking out last.
Ditto John Prine.
Favorite musical memories of Athens were provided by the legendary Gamble Rogers. The Last Resort was one stop on his regular eastern seaboard tour. I interviewed and wrote a feature on him for the Red and black. Also saw him once at Jack Rabbits in Jax.
Gamble died around 1990 trying to save someone from a rip current at St. Augustine.
First concert was Genesis at the Omni in 86 or 87. I have seen Pearl Jam 3 times(always a great show). I have seen Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers (formerly The Refreshments creators of the King of the Hill theme song) 6 times and back when they played at Smith’s Olde Bar we would hang out in the bar with them afterwards. Saw Metallica at Sun Trust in 2017, good show. Weezer before they went super mega in the 90s at the old Masquerade music park. All the big 90s acts except Nirvana and Soundgarden for whatever reason. Lakewood was a second home when I was a teen. Great dudes. It costs wayyy too much anymore to go see any of these acts anymore. Pearl Jam, ironically, was over $200 for nosebleed last year. Not worth it IMO.
I was at that Genesis concert! I used to work at a record and tape warehouse in ATL when I was in college. One of the ladies in the front office took a shine to me and took me to that show. Got a free concert and laid all in the same night. Ahhh, to be young again!
Got started in radio right out of high school and am a ’86 Grady School grad so my list is long. Don’t even know if I can remember them all. Saw Van Halen the night before I took the SATs(not a smart move) but got into UGA anyway, lol. Boston, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, 38 Special, Heart, Saga, REO Speedwagon, Kool and the Gang, Doobie Brothers, Paul McCartney, Huey Lewis and the News, Billy Joel, Elton John, Cheap Trick, Charlie Daniels, Temptations, George Jones, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Hank Williams Jr, Garth Brooks, Sawyer Brown, Toby Keith, Reba, Linda Davis, Kenny Rogers, REM, B52’s, Lee Brice, Kellie Pickler, Tracy Lawrence, Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, Old Dominion, Lonestar, Mark Chestnutt, Jana Kramer, Lauren Alaina, Big and Rich, Clint Black, Randy Houser, Phil Vasser, Blackberry Smoke, Craig Morgan, Danielle Bradbury, Rodney Atkins, Gabby Barrett, Sammy Kershaw, Sara Evans, and I’m sure there’s more. My brain’s hard drive has run out of space.
Saw Led Zeppelin at the Omni in ’77. Rod Stewart in the Omni in’ 79. (There was lingerie raining down on the stage the whole show.) B.B. King and Bobby Bland at Stegman in ’81. The Radiators at the GA Theater in 91. Elton John and Billy Joel in Birmingham in ’05. All were great shows.
That Zeppelin show bootleg is on Youtube. I remember Plant coming onto the stage around 8:20 for an advertised 8:00 start time, apologizing for being late, and then they played for nearly 3 hours. This at a time when band routinely started shows an hour or more late.
Did anybody here see Led Zeppelin at the Macon Coliseum in April, 1970?
I saw Uriah Heep and Earth Wind and Fire on different dates at the Miami Jai Lai at age ten. My favorite concert of all was Eagles Flatwood Mac at the Omni when Fleetwood Mac Opened for the Eagles. That day I had scored a hat trick in a soccer game against our rival and I took the two most beautiful girls in high school to the concert. I have seen the Eagles five more times over the years at various Atlanta venues. Thery have the sound most like studio sound, I had a great time at the old Champagne Jams
I saw Skynyrd twice at the Miami Jai Lai fronton. Also Robin Trower and Aerosmith with Ted Nugent opening they refused an encore Ted came back out until they cut the power. He was fired from their tour the next day.
Any chance you caught the Skynyrd\Charlie Daniel’s show/riot at Miami Marine Stadium?
I saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers in a field outside of Chico, CA. I remember looking at the guitarist’s tattoos and thinking; John Frusciante’s alive? Sure enough, he had re-joined and they played most of the what would be Californication album, they even stopped and re-started a couple songs and played a couple at different tempos. It was really cool watching them make the sausage (don’t be lewd) so to speak and the crowd was cool with it. It more than made up for not playing some of the older stuff I thought I wanted to hear. The best part was you could see their little kid’s in the window of the farmhouse dancing around the whole show, lol.
First concert was Live when they played Legion Field, saw them again at Lakewood and liked the Legion Field experience far more. Ed Kowalcyk (sp?) even came around and hung out in the dorms before the show, very down to earth folks. Followed Buffett for a few shows and I can’t remember much of the show but the tailgate was awesome. Only live shows since have been family things that I can’t say was enjoyable…Luke Bryan, JoJo Siwa, etc.
Unfortunately never got to see Prince live. Big time regret. I think Purple Rain is a top 20 rock album of all time.
I saw the Stones on my 16th birthday at McCormick Place in Chicago. Saturday the Allman Brothers twice before Duane died. Saw Johnny Winter and Janis Joplin at the Palm Beach Pop Festival Thanksgiving of 69. Dead many times and Commander Cody the night Oakland won the series!!
1965
I was at the 69 Palm Beach pop festival. I got free tickets from the Janis Joplin team. I was working at the George Washington Hotel downtown WPB when she arrived. I helped get all her giant trunks into her spare suit. She rented the entire restaurant for her dinner with boyfriend County Joe McDonald.
I missed Johnny Winter big regret. Stayed for the Stones very big disappointment there.
Never got to see Duane big mistake on my part. Saw the AB’s many times without Duane. Usually great shows not so at the Georgia Jam Fulton County Stadium in 74 Greg and Dicky pasted out on stage. Heroin is a show killer.
Dang, I haven’t met many folks who were at that festival! I had. come home from Vietnam in September and a couple of buddies and I hitched from Champaign to Palm for it. We froze our asses off and slept in the mud. I remember the Chamber’s Brothers play “Time” in the middle of the night. Here’s a website about the gig. I found pics of us on the site
https://oldrockphoto.com/palmbeach.html
Thanks to all of you for commenting on this, I’ve enjoyed reading through all of them.
Man I hate that Im so late to this.
Otis I too had my own show at the radio station when I was at ABAC. Two hours every Wednesday.
As for live shows, I used to go to a lot of them. A lot of my favorite acts play smaller rooms and that’s what I prefer. Ive seen Drive-by Truckers something like twenty times. Majority of those were in Athens. Since my daughter was born in ‘12 I don’t go see near as many live shows and from what I understand live music isnt as big a deal to younger people and that’s a damn shame. I’m pretty sure the last live show I saw was Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels, and Travis Tritt in Columbus in ‘19. Charlie would let be around much longer but he absolutely stole the show that night. Eighty something years old and he was all over that stage having a ball the entire show. RIP to Mr Charlie. Good topic. We need more of this to get us through the offseason.
Great topic. My second post on here ever. My first was outing Dan Mullen for living his summers on Lake Oconee, having a blast and not recruiting while Kirby was grinding it out. My family is from Florida and when my uncle (FSU grad) passed away after a devasting hurricane that destroyed the Gulf, I gave all the bull gators that were friends and family at the funeral my full assessment and they were appalled, they didn’t believe me and I’d periodically get calls to see if his boat was on our community dock, and I’d say “yes sir”. I felt like I was somehow helping my Uncle get his comeupance! He’d be proud of me 🙂
As for concerts, great read, but I can’t believe no one has mentioned Stewart & Winfield. I’d go watch those guys in the late 90’s early 00’s in Athens all of the time while in school (and Kinchafoonee). Been to lots of concerts from Buffet to Zac Brown but the best was Morgan Wallen and Jelly Roll in Vegas. And just because our seats were amazing, I kept imagining if we were watching a football game that we’d be sitting in 5 or 6 figure seats, it was awesome and that stadium is pretty bad ass. Wife wanted to see him in Knoxville and while a good concert with lots of guest singers, sitting Kneeland was tough. I went to a game once while in school and she wants to see a game there and I told her that was it, those people are crazy hillbillies.
My top live shows in Athens were Jason and the Scorchers at one of the 40 Watt venues, and Normaltown Flyers about a hundred times at Allen’s.
First concerts I ever saw were country at some place in South Georgia where they built a venue and started hosting concerts in the 70’s. Parents took me to Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, etc. I was too young to remember them all or exactly where they were.
My favorite big concerts were Springsteen and Petty at Omni in the 80’s.
Lately, I’ve started really liking “Americana” country (see Outlaw Country on XM Radio), and maybe the best show I ever saw was Robert Earle Keen at the Ryman Auditorium about two years ago.
The only time that I ever wish I kept a journal was for topics like this because I have seen so many bands and concerts I can’t keep it straight. Plus, I tried to live the rock-n-roll lifestyle for most of my life and I know I have been and “seen” shows that I often cannot remember.
I would guess that the band I have seen the most is REM or perhaps DnC just out of proximity but I did see the The Replacements A LOT during the mid to late 80’s.
I saw U2 on every stop in Atlanta beginning with the War album all the way through How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
I only saw Prince on the Purple Rain tour and that was a mistake.
I saw the Police twice … Synchronicity Tour at the Omni and then Amnesty International Show in 1986 that also had Joan Baez, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, and U2 on the bill.
I don’t always attend the DBT homecoming shows in Athens but I try to make it if the schedule permits. I have seen Jason Isbell several times including a show at the Ryman.
I went a saw Lord Huron at Red Rocks almost two years ago and it was one of my favorite shows ever. Good band with atmospheric music in the most incredible setting.
The Producers were always fun when in Athens. Stevie Ray Vaughan NYE at the Fox was sublime. Elton John’s Red Piano residency at Caesar’s was a great way to see and hear his best. The Austin local music scene was off the charts good…too many to name but Bob Schneider puts on great shows as did Eric Tessemer.
The Producers are still performing. The drummer is a friend.
No way! Saw them 4 or 5 times in early 80’s. Most of us in Milledge Hall would go.
I was in college in the mid-70s so that shaped my musical tastes.
Some of the bands I saw were:
ZZ Top, J. Giles & Lynyrd Skynyrd in Sugar Bowl Stadium, but Skynyrd was a no show due to trouble with their plane (same plane that later crashed).
Led Zeppelin in Baton Rouge – Song Remains the Same
Peter Frampton – Comes Alive tour
Blue Oyster Cult
Kiss during Mardi Gras week
The Cars
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Aerosmith in the 70s with opening acts KC & the Sunshine Band (WTF?) and Nazareth
Boston
Styx
Several REM shows including their last free show in the Georgia Theater.
Guadalcanal Diary
Some of the best shows were in the old Georgia Theater: The Normaltown Flyers, David Byrne, Jerry Jeff Walker, and my all time favorite: Warren Zevon. I went in with minimal expectations for Zevon, and he blew me away.
I have told many folks that the Zevon show at the Theater was as good as it gets!
You can check out their albums by way of YouTube. Their music still stands up to this day. Fun fact. At the Cow Palace in Dothan Al, White Witch started their song “It’s so nice to be stoned” and the stage turned white. Everyone was throwing joints on the stage. It was a sign of the times.
I still attend live shows. After college, I pretty much quit, but got back into it in 2013 when a friend of mine begged me to go with him to see Alter Bridge at the Tabernacle in Atlanta (if you don’t know who Alter Bridge is, they are 3 of the 4 members of Creed minus Scott Stapp who formed in 2004 after Creed broke up). Since that time, I’ve seen Alter Bridge 5 times (I’m counting my next time to see them in April at the Coca-Cola Roxy, next to the Braves stadium), Mammoth (Wolfgang Van Halen’s band) 3x, Creed 2x, Boston 8x (yeah, I like them). I’ve also seen Night Ranger, Collective Soul, Foo Fighters, Skillet, 3 Doors Down (2x), Red, Tremonti (2x), Joan Jett, Art of Anarchy, Monster Truck (2x), The Dead Deads, Dennis DeYoung, Wilson, Kansas, .38 Special & The Struts (some of these were opening acts). I still have all of my ticket stubs too, but you can’t get them anymore (at most venues) as everything has gone digital, so that is something that I don’t like as the ticket stub is a part of the experience to me.
Prior to the above 2013-2026 time period, I saw concerts from 1985-1999 (in my youth) that included Amy Grant, Stryper, Night Ranger, Boston, Def Leppard, Chicago, The Outfield, Hurricane, Farrenheit, Tesla, Henry Lee Summer, Queensryche, Poison & Shania Twain. I still enjoy live music, but I no longer want to stand the entire time, so I make sure that I buy tickets to actual seats vs standing.