13 years ago today I saw my very first TOOL concert at the over sold Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. Scalped tickets for with my friends for $140, where one ended up to be fake but luckily was allowed in. Not sure how. Ticket Master employees were there with special scanners to try and prevent fakes from being allowed in..The show started extremely late due to the fact that the prior show in Atlanta had an excess of over 2,000 fake ticket holders allowed into the show which of course then became a major concern for the NYC. The line around the building went on for blocks and I was worried our tickets were fake as about 20 or so people were wandering the streets begging for REAL tickets as they had purchased a bunch of fakes earlier in the day and were dying to see this show. My friends and I had purchased 3 tickets from a scalper who legitimately had a duffle bag full of tickets (I would say easily 300 tickets) and told us to just 'dig in' and 'grab three tickets'. So we did.
After waiting in line which seemed like eternity I let my male friend go first to see if the ticket scanned. This was only my second concert ever as I had just seen APC three months earlier in the exact same venue in NYC. I wasn't aware of what may be the consequences of being caught with a fake ticket. Anyways, my male friend's ticket was scanned and it was good to go. I went next, ticket was scanned by a TM employee and I was good. Next my female friend's ticket was scanned...DENIED...Fake.Caught Out...Ughhhh...my male friend and I begged and pleaded with a very overwhelmed TM staff as many fans were very disgruntled at this point having had to wait in a never ending or moving line. Things got very crowded in the small entrance of the venue. Between checking bags, pat downs, and scanning tickets it was purely chaotic to say the least. Anyways, I told the TM employees that we had all purchased our tickets from a TM retailer (remember those days when you could actually go to a TM location and purchased tickets?) and there must be something wrong with the scanner. They didn't it. Arguing commenced for a few more minutes when finally the TM employees just gave in and let my female friend through.
Amazing show.Was about 10 rows back in General Admission. Featured songs like Prison Sex, 46+2 D/R, Parabol/a, Sober, The Grudge, Opiate, Aenema and many more. Honestly, for a 16 year old it was a very life changing experience. From that day forward that experience is what hooked me to become a live concert junkie.
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11 years ago today I saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the By the Way Tour with opening acts The Mars Volta and Queens of the Stone Age. During The Mars Volta set many fans boo'ed The Mars Volta and were throwing stuff on stage at them. Heckles galore. At one point Flea came out and told everyone to 'chill the fuck out, these guys our are friends and I played with them on their latest record'. It kinda settled the crowd down. Queens of The Stone Age killed it with songs like Feel Good Hit of the Summer, The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, A Song for the Dead, Tension Head, and Go With the Flow. RHCP was fine, nothing really stellar except a great closing song, 'Me and My Friends', which was great. Anthony's voice wasn't bad compared to all the bootlegs I have seen over the years that made me question why he even goes and performs live.
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8 years ago today I saw TOOL again at the New York City Center in Manhattan, NY. Again this was a pre-tour tour. Again, long lines and late starts. People were openly smoking bowls of weed and yelling absurdities including 'Maynard was sent down from the heavens to sing to us!" and "I would suck MJKs dick even if it was 5 feet long!" Show was to begin at 9:30pm. Show began around 10:45pm. It was an amazing experience to walk into the venue with a curtain down so you couldn't see the stage or gear when you first walked in. The lights dimmed and the curtain slowly raised as Adam overwhelmed the crowd with feedback from his guitar as a strong shimmering purple light was emitted as the curtain slowly raised. Then BOOM. Right into Stinkfist in all of it's rocking glory. I thought the mezzanine above me was going to come crashing down. Maynard was in a fantastic mood, very talkative, and the band was tight. I sat in the Orchestra and the sound was impeccable. Songs included The Patient, Rosetta Stoned, Jambi, Vicarious and Lateralus. Blown away to say the least. Also was able to meet Alex Grey after the show along with his very friendly wife and was able to get my ticket signed by Alex. Man I miss going to CoSM in NYC.
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3 years ago today I saw Thomas Pridgeon's band, Elixir on Mute, The Memorials (which Thomas Pridgeon also drums on), and a few local bands which were superb at a local venue about an hour away. Met Thomas Pridgeon after the show and he was a really nice genuine guy. Thomas is an amazing drummer to say the least. Unfortunately only maybe 40 people showed up to the show. Exlixir on mute had what I would guess a 13 year old on guitar and as lead vocals. Unique to say the least. The Memorials were pretty good as well as the female vocalist really tore it down.
Elixir:
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The Memorials:
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3 years ago today also marks the loss of Macho Man Randy Savage.
It's been a while since I have kept up with a loose tradition of seeing live music on this date, but I am on the hunt right now for some good local shows.
As a live music junkie I know that I care about little things that others simply do not, I'm curious to know if anyone has seen many concerts on the same day.
