Your First Rock Show

If you could choose to see any band in any venue, at any time... Who, where and when would it be? Mine would be Led Zeppelin with Bonzo (John Bonham) at Cobo Hall in 1975 for the "Physical Graffiti" tour. Bob Seger recorded "Nine Tonight" there. Some buildings are perfect for amplification and Cobo Hall hosted some legendary shows. Plus, I would love to go back just to feel the vibe of a 70's concert experience. The clothes, the cars and the hoochie mama outfits ladies used to wear to shows back then.

I never got to see Led Zeppelin but in 1990, I went to my first concert at the Palace. AC/DC on "The Razors Edge " tour. In middle school I fell in love with the simplistic, ass kicking songs of the Austrailian boys. So, when they released the album, my cousin Rob and I waited outside all day in line to get tickets. The ticket buying process was a memorable adventure all in its own.

I was in 9th or 10th grade at the time and because I was going with my cousin who was much older, my parents let me go unsupervised. I was like a kid in a candy store. I may have had a beer or 2? When we got in to see the show, I remember it going dark and the Thunder started to rumble. The energy of the crowd that night was something special. I knew every single song and at an AC/DC show, there is a lot of audience participation and sing along opportunities. They played "Money Talks" and dropped these dollar bills on the crowd with Angus Young on them (Still wish I had mine).  People were pushing others out of the way to try and get them. What a cool piece of memorabilia.

When the concert came to an end, my voice was gone and my ears were ringing for 3 days. This was before the noise ordinances were put in place to protect people's hearing. To this day, it is the LOUDEST concert I have ever seen and still remains one of the top 5 shows I have ever seen live. Angus was even better live than he was on record. His school boy outfit, his facial expressions and energy had my attention all night. The band never missed a note and Brian Johnson banged his head all night without losing his trademark hat.

Jim Brewer also loves AC/DC and gives a hilarious description of an AC/DC show.

So, what was your first rock band you saw perform live?

Here is the AC/DC set list from that night. November 24, 1990.

• Thunderstruck  
• Shoot to Thrill  
• Back in Black  
• Fire Your Guns  
• Sin City  
• Heatseeker  
• Who Made Who  
• Jailbreak  
• The Jack  
• The Razors Edge  
• That's the Way I Wanna Rock 'n' Roll  
• Moneytalks  
• Hells Bells  
• High Voltage  
• You Shook Me All Night Long  
• Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap  
• Whole Lotta Rosie  
• Let There Be Rock  
• Encore:
• Highway to Hell  
• T.N.T.  
• For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)