Remembering my life, one concert at a time!

I've been going to concerts since 1986, and my memories are starting to blend together.  It's time to write down as much as I can remember.

Bon Jovi -Slippery When Wet tour, Cleveland, OH, Opening Act- Cinderella

This was Bon Jovi's first major tour, and since the show was the day before my sister's 18th birthday, I got the tickets as her gift.  My then boyfriend Bill (now husband) was supposed to come too, but at the last minute changed his mind.  He sold his ticket to our neighbor Shannon Gwinn who was happy to come along.  The concert was held at Richfield Coliseum, and we drove there together in our white 1980 Buick Skylark during a blizzard.  I remember how cold I was walking to the show from the car, especially since my sister and I dressed for vanity rather then comfort!

Cinderella opened, and they were really good.  They played Once Around the Ride, Nothin' for Nothin', In from the Outside, Somebody Save Me, Night Songs, Push Push, Toronto Blues, Back Home Again, and Nobody's Fool.

I went to the bathroom between the two bands and got into my typical trouble.  Two girls were beating the hell out of another girl in there.  I didn't know who, and I didn't know why, but I felt the odds should be more even, so I jumped into the fight with gusto.  I don't know who looked more surprised, the girl I was helping or the girls I was fighting with.  In the end, my sister pulled me out of the middle which stopped the entire fight.  We were all worse for wear, and my sister yelled at us all and called us stupid.  She asked us how we'd have felt if we got kicked out of the show and had to sit in the snow and miss Bon Jovi.  She had a great point.  We all left to watch the show.

  

It was worth it too.  We had great seats and could see really well.  The crowd was cheering and singing. Everyone was standing up and dancing.  It was so much fun.

This is a special memory too because we spent the evening with our neighbor Shannon who ended up dying young.  To this day, I think of him whenever I hear Bon Jovi.

Set List:
Pink Flamingos
Raise Your Hands
Breakout
Tokyo Road
You Give Love a Bad Name
Wild in the Streets
Silent Night
Livin' on a Prayer
Let It Rock
Guitar Solo
Drum Solo
In & Out of Love
Runaway
Wanted Dead or Alive
Drift Away
(Dobie Gray cover)
Get Ready

Donnie Iris & The Cruisers, Holiday Inn Metroplex, Girard, OH

The tickets for this show were amazingly cheap, $3.00, yes you read that right, $3.00 a piece.  I went with friends Yvonne & JR, Criss & Dennis, Bill (now my husband), and then boyfriend Alan.  We all crammed into JR's boat of a car and traveled to the show together.  Our seats were decent, and the show rocked.  We definitely got our money's worth, and  Ah! Leah! is still one of my favorite songs today.

As usual, my seat was by a wacko.  The girl in front of me was with four guys, and they all had their hands in her top and under her skirt.  She was loud and giggly, and kept telling them that only one guy at a time could touch her.  She also kept drinking, and eventually threw up all over herself.  When she came back from cleaning herself up, she tried to sit on my lap instead of in her own seat. I took my high-heeled foot and kicked her right off of my lap before her butt made contact.  She landed on her ass, then she stood up, turned around, and slapped Bill, who was sitting next to me, as hard as she could.  He just rolled his eyes and joked that they couldn't take me anywhere.



Set List:
1. Tough World
2. The Rapper
3. She's So European
4. Do You Compute
5. My Girl
"Rap" is the next thing listed as Donnie talked to the audience for awhile
6. I Can't Hear You
7. Somebody
8. That's the Way Love Oughta Be
9. This time it Must Be Love
10. Stagedoor Johnny
11. Love is Like A Rock
Encores
12, High and the Mighty
13. Ah! Leah!

Neil Young & Crazy Horse -Rusted Out Garage Tour, Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland, OH

When I look back on my life, the summer of 1984 holds a special part in my heart, and in all of those memories, Neil Young is playing in the background.  I finally got to go to one of his concerts in 1986.  Alan Davis, my boyfriend at the time, got me the tickets for my birthday.  My sister Diana, and her boyfriend at the time, Jeff Barbe went with us.  

The stage was designed to look like a garage that the band used to play in and even had remote control rats that ran across the stage.  Neil Young's performance was outstanding, and I remember singing along with most of the songs.  After the last encore, Neil ran back out and pulled a big plug.  The house lights went out, and the show was over.  I also remember how the entire coliseum smelled like cannabis, and that joints were being passed from person to person throughout entire sections.  

I paid $15.00 my shirt, and again, I can't remember when I stopped wearing it or where it went...Only picture of a shirt on-line I can find:

 

Set List:  Mr. Soul / Cinnamon Girl / When You Dance I Can Really Love / Touch The Night / Down By The River / Heart Of Gold / Inca Queen / After The Gold Rush / Too Lonely / Opera Star / Road Of Plenty / Cortez The Killer // Sample And Hold / Computer Age /Violent Side / Mideast Vacation / Long Walk Home / The Needle And The Damage Done / Hippie Dream / Powderfinger / Like A Hurricane / Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) // Prisoners Of Rock 'n' Roll

Aerosmith - Done with Mirrors tour Cleveland, Oh Opening Act: Ted Nugent

Steve Tyler from Aerosmith, 1986

Aerosmith, at Richfield Coliseum, was the first concert I ever went to.  My boyfriend at the time, Alan Davis, bought the tickets to celebrate our graduations the next week.  Him from Crestwood High School, and me from Bloomfield High School. We had fourth row floor seats.

Wish I knew where this shirt was now.

Before the show started, I went to the bathroom and literally bumped into Ted Nugent.  He flirted with me, but he made me nervous because he wasn't wearing a shirt, and I didn't know who he was.  I just said excuse me and hurried by.  Boy, was I surprised to see him on stage when I returned.  Alan, my boyfriend, didn't even believe me until later when Ted pointed at me from on stage and smirked.  I just grinned and shrugged at him.  I felt pretty embarrassed at the time, but now looking back, the whole thing makes me laugh.

Once Aerosmith started playing, people swarmed towards the stage.  Even though I was so close, I had to stand on my chair to see anything.    Everyone was cheering and singing along.  The energy of the entire show was amazing!  Steve Tyler was shaking his butt and strutting all over as he played.

The only downer of the night was that the five young guys in front of us were very drunk.  Eventually one of them threw up and passed out on his chair with his arms hanging behind him.  His friends ditched him, so I kept checking his pulse to make sure he was still alive.  At the end of the show, and  I don't know why I didn't do this sooner,  I had to go get  a security guard to help him.

Ted Nugent, 1986
At the end of his act, he came out in
just a loin cloth, so I was glad he was only half
naked when I bumped into him!

Aerosmith:
Setlist 1. Back In The Saddle 2. Same Old Song And Dance 3. Bone To Bone (Coney Island White Fish Boy) 4. Big Ten Inch Record 5. My Fist Your Face 6. Last Child 7. Shame On You 8. Mother Popcorn 9. No Surprize 10. She's On Fire 11. Walkin'The Dog 12. The Hop 13. Red House 14. Lightning Strikes 15. Shela 16. Walk This Way 17. Let The Music Do The Talking 18. Sweet Emotion 19. Toys In The Attic