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Dayton Memories > Who Was the First Person/Group You Saw in Concert?
Who Was the First Person/Group You Saw in Concert?
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Hugha
4 posts
Jan 16, 2011
9:59 AM
My first concert was Rush at UD Arena. I ended up in the front row.

A couple years later Steppenwolf had a free concert downtown (around 1987 or 88). It was an ecletic crowd - guys in their 50 and teenagers.
Pattie076
2 posts
Feb 03, 2011
8:17 AM
Areosmith!!! My stub says Nov. 14th 1974, Hara Arena, ticket # 0200. 5.50 advance 6.50 day of show. I was 16 and had never heard of them till the day before I got my ticket. To this day they are among my favorite bands. The other bands I saw at Hara, Humble Pie 1975, Areosmith 1975, Joe Walsh 1975, Fog Hat 1976, Marshall Tucker 1976, I then graduated from Colonel White and moved to PA. where I still live.
F16 1UB
11 posts
Mar 17, 2011
7:52 AM
Sly & The Family Stone at Hara Arena. He was 2-3 hours late. By the time he arrived I think everybody was stoned. Magic in the air BIG TIME. In the words of Bill Clinton "I never inhaled". My story and .....

Last Edited by on Mar 17, 2011 7:54 AM
alabama
21 posts
Mar 19, 2011
3:40 PM
My first concert was the Beatles in Cincinnati at Crosley Field. I was 13 years old. I remember my dad drove me there and picked me up after the concert. I went all by myself. Couldn't do that nowadays.
marty58
6 posts
Mar 25, 2011
4:55 PM
late 70's cincinnati..lynard skynard, ted nugent AND santana...wow what a first and what a lineup. must say santana brought the house down!!!
Perry401
33 posts
Mar 25, 2011
8:36 PM
October 3, 1973 it was Elton John at the "new" UD arena. I had been called in to fix some cables used in the concert, and Elton wrote me a nice note, thanking me for my work and for helping him to present a "world class" show. I still have that note of course.
oldrndirt
2 posts
Mar 26, 2011
8:57 PM
My first concert was Black Sabbath at Hara in July of 1972 - opening act was supposed to be some band named Groundhogs but they canceled and were replaced by Ramatam - nice upgrade!
clamper
21 posts
Mar 26, 2011
9:05 PM
The Beach Boys which I believe was at UD Arena..opening act was the Lovin' Spoonful..Also Roy Buchannan but I dont recall where...somewhere close to UD campus (hey c'mon it was 40 years ago)!! And yes alleN71...I know about the name...kinda like 10cc

Last Edited by on Mar 26, 2011 9:10 PM
JeffN
381 posts
Apr 27, 2011
11:22 AM
The concert I remember most vividly was Kiss at Hara back in '77. Bob Seger opened for them and basically was booed off the stage.

Last Edited by on Apr 27, 2011 11:22 AM
PaulH
16 posts
Apr 27, 2011
3:50 PM
I am really going to date myself with this one. How about the Glen Miller Orchestra led by Tex Beneke at the NCR auditorium. My Mom took me there after being invited by a friend of hers. I like Big Band era music. Along with my rock stuff, I have collections of GM's music along with the Dorsey Brothers and Artie Shaw.
I can't seeme to remember who my first rock concert was. Might have been the Edgar Winter Group, or Santana.
Oldav
6 posts
Oct 03, 2011
3:01 AM
- James Taylor at Hara in March '71. Sweet Baby James was already a hit and that was the week Time Magazine had him on the cover. Opener was Carole King, I had never heard of her- nor did it seem had most of the restless audience- but actually liked her show more. She opened with "I Feel the Earth Move" and basically sang all of Tapestry, which had been released a couple of weeks before and went on to become one of the best sellers ever. Did a couple of nice duets with James later.

- Jethro Tull the night Ian Anderson got pissed at the people in the audience screaming during one of his early flute solos, stopped, and shouted "Will you ----ing pouts to shut up?" before giving a mini-lecture on how to behave at a concert. That was the Aqualung tour.

- did not attend but does anyone remember time the Rolling Stones played Hara and there weren't even 200 people in the audience? There was an article with picture about it in the DDN the next day.

Best Ohio show for me ever was a few years later. Bruce Springsteen was not recording and apparently into contractual hassles after Born to Run. A friend heard he was playing Miami Univerity's gym/field house and we went down it wasn't a large place and they'd actually blocked off only half of the place. You could tell he was in the mood to play his butt off. Amazing evening
of music from a genius entering his prime.
Oldav
7 posts
Oct 03, 2011
3:12 AM
Correction to Ian's rant: "----ing louts."


One bit of music trivia is an interview with Little Richard I read in which he recalled breaking in a new guitarist at the Diamond Club and getting impatient because the guy was playing rifts directly from his old records. Richard said something like, "Son, you're playing THEN. I want to hear NOW!"

So Jimi Hendrix cranked it up and let loose.
rinspd1
4 posts
Oct 04, 2011
6:25 PM
Earl Scruggs and the Earl Scruggs Revue, the Agora in Columbus, 1974.
rinspd1
5 posts
Oct 04, 2011
6:27 PM
Hey EJ Brown--I was at the same J. Geils and Robin Trower concert. I don't remember seeing you there. :)
Sandy62
5 posts
Oct 22, 2011
11:29 PM
Elvis - Sunday - May 27, 1956 - University of Dayton Fieldhouse - 2:00 p.m. show - My sister still has her ticket stub. She was 14 and I was 11 years old.
pat68
4 posts
Dec 27, 2011
12:18 PM
Monicat71, The Beach Boys were at Hara Arena in 1965. I also saw Paul Revere and the Raiders hat Hara Arena on April 29, 1966. I remember it well because it was my 16th birthday and my friend and I spent the entire show backstage with Marc Lindsey. Tommy Rowe and Gene Pitney also performed, as well as the Where The Action Is dancers. I still have the ticket - it was $5.00

My first concert was Roy Orbison at the Caverns under Forest Park, which later became the Golden Lion and the She.

There were so many concerts at Hara Arena - I saw the Rolling Stones in 1965; the Temptations and the Four Tops in 1966; Gary and the Pacemakers; a show that included Tom Jones and Sonny and Cher (I think that was the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars). Then in the 70's it seems we went to a concert every week.
delcodude
214 posts
Dec 29, 2011
7:32 AM
JeffN:

I was at Kiss for the Alive! tour. I can't recall the date because my ticket stub is missing that portion of the ticket.

I was a sophomore at Patterson and usually ate lunch at one of the may eateries along 1st and Main Streets. One day as I'm eating a hotdog walking through Sears I figure I'll kill some time by going to the record dept. As I walk through I'm spellbound by all the facing LPs in the racks. They have 'all' been replaced by Kiss Alive Albums. A hundred at least. And I've never seen nor heard of them. I was hooked.

So that summer ('75) they come to Dayton and my Mom drives me (15 yrs old) to Hara Arena and drops me off because none of my friends are allowed(?) to go to the concert. I don't recall an opening act. The crowd is lined up all the way around the rear of the building. As I get close to entering I see that the glass has been broken out of at least one of the doors and there's blood on the floor inside. A lot of blood. Fitting.

Well, I've studied them by now and know all of their antics. The blood display by Gene Simmons during 'Cold Gin'. The fire display during 'Firehouse', where I managed to snap a pic from my trusty 126 Kodak camera the instant the fireball was in the air. Oh, yeah. Wait til they see this, I thought. I got several pics from my spot on the floor, center stage, five or six rows back.

After seeing hundreds of concerts during my lifetime this one still is ranked at the top as most memorable..for a lot of reasons....
wolfcreek
34 posts
Jan 04, 2012
8:44 PM
delcodude, if you're mistaken by a year, and the Kiss concert you attended at hara was in august of 76, then the opening act was Bob Seger. I was there too.
delcodude
217 posts
Jan 10, 2012
11:57 AM
wolfcreek:

I think you may be right. I was trying to count the years in my head as I've lost a bunch of old concert stubs. And, now that you mention it, Bob Seger sounds familiar, though I saw him one other time. That may've clouded my memory. Thanks..
JJflash2012
2 posts
Apr 07, 2012
6:28 AM
Guess Who and Savoy Brown at Memorial Hall - my Dad dropped us off, I was madly in love with a girl in my 7th grade class (musta been around 69) - she liked the Hippies/Freaks and I was damn sure gonna be one!
beckynews1208
4 posts
Aug 08, 2012
1:21 PM
In 1964, my Dad surprised me with tickets to see the Beatles at Cincinnati Gardens. It was my very first concert and I remember standing on a chair and hugging a pole and screaming!
luv my dayton
103 posts
Aug 10, 2012
5:52 AM
Elvis Presley at Hobart Arena in mid 50's. The sreaming was so constant and loud through the entire show I really am not sure if we heard anything of him and he mostly laughed and gyrated. All in my group had lost our voices for a day or so which made the siblings and parents happy little campers.
Calhoun
58 posts
Aug 14, 2012
4:49 AM
First concert was the Eagles in 1974 in Cincy at the old UC field house. Most memorable concert was ELP and a 77 piece orchestra in Cincy (Riverfront). Only time I saw rock concert goers in tuxes and formal gowns. This concert was the night after the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, you could still smell the smoke the next day along the river.

Favorite places to see a concert in Dayton are still Canal Street and McGuffies. Worst concert venue in town is UD Arena, the acoustics are terrible!
marilee59
3 posts
Oct 09, 2012
9:54 AM
My first concert was Tina Turner at Hara Arena in 1974. I then started attending pretty much every concert that came into town at Hara. I remember great concerts at U.D., Palace Theatre too. I was always one of the first few in line before the doors or gates opened and I remember seeing Jackson Browne and band members walk out of the Palace Theatre to get a meal at Wendy's on the corner nearby. He was wearing dark glasses and most people didn't even notice it was him. I was awe struck! Love music...great memories!
blue J
60 posts
Oct 10, 2012
9:22 AM
I'm going to date myself here, but...my first show ever was (gasp!) Huey Lewis and the News, at Timberwolf Amphitheater at Kings Island, in 1984. I was eleven years old. My tastes have gone in all kinds of different directions since then.

Regarding the Kiss show(s) at Hara, can anybody verify if Rush ever played as opening act for Kiss there? If it was Bob Seger in '76, then I imagine it would have to have been '75 or possibly '77. A friend of mine says he went to that show but he, umm, doesn't remember any of it. I've seen Rush five or six times, in later years (starting in 1990).

I saw Bob Dylan at UD Arena in 1990; it wasn't a particularly good show on his part.

UD Arena doesn't really host live music anymore, does it?

I saw Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan together at Hara in 1989, and it was fantastic. I saw a lot of different acts at Hara in the 80s to mid 90s- David Lee Roth (hahahaha!), Phish, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.

The first show I ever saw at Memorial Hall was the Black Crowes- August 11, 1992. And the next time they returned to play in Dayton, in 2009 at the Fraze, I was front and center (I saw them nearly 50 times in other places in the interim).

Neil Young at the Nutter Center, by himself, all acoustic, September 9, 1992. Unbelievable!

James Taylor at Millett Hall in Oxford, 1993. Also great.

Grateful Dead, about 20-25 times in various places. They played Hara on 11/30/1981, and again, a friend of mine went to that one, but not me. Wasn't aware of them yet.

A few people/groups I would love to have seen, but never got to:

Joni Mitchell
Led Zeppelin
Jeff Buckley (or Tim Buckley, for that matter)
Tim Hardin

----------

Suddenly you were gone
From all the lives you left your mark upon
8/25/1967 - 7/23/1986

All I know is she sang a little while,
And then flew on
6/12/1970 - 10/15/2008

Last Edited by on Oct 10, 2012 9:41 AM
Kurtz 26
2 posts
Oct 10, 2012
7:21 PM
The Allman Brothers band at Hara Arena in 1971, who could forget.
tuckerone
3 posts
Oct 13, 2012
5:27 AM
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, in the old UD field house in 1969
delirious1
23 posts
Oct 23, 2012
1:19 AM
The first concert for me was Boston at Hara Arena.
Sammy Hagar opened. I wouldnt know because I spent that time getting sick from about 6 too many. Since it was the Red Rocker,I knew I wasn't missing anything.
I have seen Metallica a few times. The loudest concert I ever attended was Sonic Youth..
My biggest regret Is missing Nirvana when they came to Dayton in 93.
I also missed Jeff Buckley the most beautiful music ever.. Grace is a classic.
KennyE11
88 posts
Oct 23, 2012
9:29 PM
When I was a kid, my Mom used to take me to Gospel concerts at Memorial Hall. I saw acts like the Oak Ridge Boys before they went Country, and The Stamps before they toured with Elvis.
bentz
77 posts
Nov 08, 2012
10:20 AM
It was Wings in I think 1976, what a great show it was:)
lah
2 posts
Nov 09, 2012
3:52 PM
I saw ELVIS at UD Arena in the early 70s (1972?). About 10 years later, probably 1981, a great guy by the name of Doug, took me to see REO Speedwagon at UD Arena.
Tomco
18 posts
May 20, 2013
7:33 PM
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in Cincinnati. Great show attended by 20,000 + fans.
Kelly
20 posts
May 21, 2013
9:18 PM
James Brown at Memorial Hall about 1965 or so
Ared60
27 posts
May 23, 2013
3:11 PM
The Lettermen, at UD Fieldhouse.I can only estimate that it was 1965. I know I had a date ( why else would I have gone to see the Lettermen) but I can't remember her name.
Julie62
5 posts
May 25, 2013
4:47 AM
First show: Elton at Riverfront in 1976, I was 14. Saw many shows at Hara: Rush several times, Doobie Bros. several times, was at the stage about 76 or 77 (right in front of Michael McDonald) breathing "dry ice fog," didn't think I'd ever stop coughing after that one; Aerosmith, Styx, REO; ELO at UD about 1977 or 78, Queen at UD in '79, what a fantastic show that was. Anyone remember Foghat at Hara, winter 77 or 78? I remember it being sold out (?) and on top of that someone printed fake tickets, it was overcrowded, when the gates were opened a bunch of people were trampled. I was one of the ones who fell, couldn't tell you how many people walked on me, couldn't move, couldn't breathe, it was very frightening, luckily came out of it with only bruises.
Fast forward to the 90s, hubby and I had nosebleed seats at Nationwide Arena in Columbus for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The good seats weren't filled up when it was getting close to concert time, and ushers were sent out to have people in the cheaper seats trade up, at no extra charge, to seats closer to the stage. Of course, we took them up on it! Other people near us did not, and too bad for them, our new and improved seats were maybe 100 feet away from the band, what a great show it was.

Been a blast reading everyone's posts!
Pitsnipe
8 posts
Jun 05, 2013
5:34 AM
delirious1 The Boston/Sammy Hagar Concert was at UD Arena and not Hara. Was there myself & remember it well.
jack1971
11 posts
Jun 05, 2013
8:40 AM
fairmontchick, the ONLY reason you are forgiven for David Cassidy is because you are a female!!!! lol
jack1971
12 posts
Jun 05, 2013
8:43 AM
becky is also forgiven for Bobby Sherman and Barry Manilow ONLY because she is female!! lol
jack1971
13 posts
Jun 05, 2013
8:45 AM
tlturbo.............Johnny Mathis??????

The jury's still out on this one!! lol
Ared60
30 posts
Jun 07, 2013
5:15 PM
I posted back in May that my first concert was The Lettermen. In July my wife and I are going to see Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, in Pittsburgh. Not my first, hopefully not my last.
Monica29
6 posts
Jul 02, 2013
7:32 AM
The Jackson Five. It was around the time the song "Ben" was popular. Another favorite was Stevey Wonder..I still have the concert stub from 1974!
johnfader
23 posts
Jul 03, 2013
10:19 PM
Little Richard at the Shrine Club around 1958.
Redfestiva
36 posts
Mar 29, 2015
5:30 PM
That would be Buck Owens and the Buckaroos with my parents at Memorial hall when I was pretty little. Rod Stewart was my first rocker at Cincinnati Coleseum in about 1977 or 78
missinthen
36 posts
Mar 30, 2015
3:14 PM
The Young Rascals in 1969 at the Memorial Hall. I went by myself ( don't recall why that was )... and my aunt drove me there ( dropped me off and then came back and picked me up.. )... I loved it !

How fortunate we are when we have people in our lives who help make good memories. Not only people we know personally, but artists that share their gift with us..
trolleyfan
130 posts
Mar 31, 2015
4:47 AM
This is really dating me, but I saw The Kingston Trio down at the Auditorium on 2nd street. They were in their hayday, and I'm guessing it was 1957 ? All they had on the stage was the three of them and their was a Stand Up Bass Player over to the corner. I remember he was dressed in a black suit and tie and had no expression, but he was good. I really enjoyed them and in their day, they were very popular. The concert I enjoyed the most was Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels. I was In the Triumphs at the time, and Marvin Smith, one of our singers said, "I don't believe it ! There's a white person with soul", and he meant it, and he was right.


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