[honesthoff]

First Album "Photographs and Memories"--Jim Croce from the Korvettes store down the road.  He was a real hero to a lot of us West Philly kids. First concert was England Dan and John Ford Coley at some High School in Wilmington, DE. They were not considered heroic at all by anyone.

[caddisgeek]

First LP: Herbie Hancock "Future Shock"  CD: Boston s\t

First concert: Overkill, Galactic Cowboys, Anacrusis at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, WI  1992 I think.
I was front and center, right against the barricade with the singer's wedge monitor and very large and very stoic bouncers about 4 feet away.  The two openers were great, but when Overkill took the stage with "Deny The Cross" the pit fucking erupted and I was smashed in all directions by a legion of punters.  I will never forget that moment!  With the strobe lights going and having to fight like hell to prevent one's ribcage from crushed against the stage it was truly surreal.  I lasted for about two songs and then had to squeeze back to outside the pit for some relief.  I really wish everyone could experience a mosh pit at least once in their life.  My only regret is that I never got to experience stage diving or crowd surfing.  Oh well.

I remember the good old days when the 'mosh pit' pit was a reletively safe place to be. People would just be going off coz the were driven by the music, it was (god this is going to sound wanky) like a tribal dance almost. And people would look out for each other. If you got knocked over, 9 times out of 10 someone would pick you up before you hit the ground, and stage diving is an awsome feeling. Now people have no idea, the pit is full of jocks who are just out to hurt people and stage diving has turned into shirt off look at me macho posturing. It sucks, I feel so old

[Captain Humble]

First Album:  Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea - Frankie Avalon sang the title cut.



First Concert:



Jeff

[Russell Dawkins]

First big name live band... not sure    Arthur Brown or Iron Butterfly?  Owsley was there though...

Did you know Owsley, at 72, is still around? He has been on an extended visit to San Francisco. He's been living for the last 20 years in the outback of Queensland, Oz, and submitted to an interview only one week ago by the San Francisco Cronicle:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/12/MNGK0QV7HS1.DTL
He set up the first "wall of sound" PA system I think the picture's in the July 12-26 Rolling Stone.

Oh, my first records were 45s - either The Israelites by Desmond Decker and the Aces or Transfusion by Nervous Norvis (a classic!).
First "big time" show was either Peter and Gordon in Winnipeg (1966 or 67) or the "Guess Who" in Moose Jaw. I was in the Airforce and was moving around. Much better things were to come a couple of years later in Montreal.

[stereocilia]

First album was Huey Lewis and the News, Sports when I was 11, on my new little cassette player, Emerson I think.

Freaky!  I think that was mine, too.  Or, maybe it was the Footloose soundtrack?  Not sure.  Anyway, my Emerson had a dual cassette and a three band EQ.  Of course, the EQ had the ubiquitous V-shape setting at all times.  Way better than my sister's K-mart SoundDesign rig.   

According to my dad, he took me to a Marshall Tucker Band concert when I was young enough to spend the whole time on his shoulders (and too young to remember).  He says I couldn't get enough.

[Gordy]

Very nice article, thank you Russell! 

[Tweaker]

First album was Led Zeppelin II. My first concert was Iron Butterfly in 1968 at the Seattle Center. I was only 14. Blues Image was the warm up band. I remember bumping into Erik Braunn, literally, near the concession stand before the show. He was with his girlfriend. It didn't dawn on me until a few minutes later who it was. I also remember being slightly disappointed when they first started playing because I expected them to sound exactly like their albums. I also remember the mic crapping out when Braunn was trying to sing harmony at one point and him kicking it off the stage in anger. It was a very cool concert, though. Festival seating with the place full of very friendly hippies passing around incense and funny cigarettes. And once I got used to the "live" sound I really ended up enjoying it. The light show was so cool, and simple! A couple of guys with overhead projectors and  glass pans with the colored oil and water, and some bits of 35mm movie film projected in here and there.  My friend and I were easily the youngest people there (except for Braunn) and we felt real hip going back to school on little old Vashon Island. We were the first of our class to attend a concert. Good memories.

[DeadFish]

Yes, Russell, thanks for the link on Owsley!  First I've read on him since his interview with High Times in the 70s.
What a character!

[Antman27]

First album Pink Floyd The Wall I got it for Easter gift from Mom I think I was in 6th grade so I was 11 or 12 
First Concert was Van Halen 1982 Diver Down Tour Sat in the last row section 318 Nassau Coliseum $12.50 still have my stub 

[Amelia Prunt]

First gig - "Weird Al" Yankovic at the county fair. I'm not joking.

First album - probably "Roll the Bones" by Rush