Jim Cuddy, Diana Krall say first concert can be a life-changing event
TORONTO (CP) – Do you remember the first concert you ever attended?
The crush of people, the bright lights and the ear-splitting sound? Many of us remember the night as vividly we do our first kiss. And when that first gig comes up in conversation with friends or co-workers, most of us eagerly contribute our own memory – whether it was a legendary band or the bubblegum pop act du jour.
It’s because music defines our personalities, explains Jacqueline Warwick, assistant professor of music at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
“It’s such an important part of how we make ourselves up and how we present ourselves to the world,” she said.
The inaugural concert typically represents a snapshot of yourself and who you considered to be part of your community at that time in your life, added Warwick.
“You’ve made this investment of time and energy and money. You think ‘These people understand me somehow. They speak to me. They get me,’ ” she said. “All of that is heavily freighted and becomes incredibly significant . . . making up their identity and figuring out what kind of man or woman they’re going to be.”
The Canadian Press asked a few musicians about their first concert.
Billy Talent’s Ben Kowalewicz:
It was John Denver with my mom (in Montreal). I fell asleep half way through because it was John Denver. I was just a little one, a wee lad. But the first concert that really resonated with me and meant something to me would be the ’92 Lollapalooza (at Molson Park in Barrie, Ont.) with Pearl Jam, Chili Peppers, Ministry, Ice Cube and Soundgarden. I just remember thinking it was the greatest day of my life. I was probably 16 and I was stoned out of my gourd. I was walking around thinking “This is amazing. This is what I want to do.”
Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy:
The Lovin’ Spoonful at the Autostad at Expo 67 (in Montreal). I was in the very, very back row and I have never been so excited in my life. When they first started I thought I was going to scream. It was the first time I realized why people scream. Obviously I’d been listening to music for a while. I was a really huge Beatles fan and I saw all the screaming on Ed Sullivan but when I was in that concert, it was almost more than I could handle.
Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor:
Beach Boys in Montreal. I can’t remember where. I was very young. Maybe ’64. It was an outdoor thing.
Jazz singer Diana Krall:
Trooper was the first concert. I got gum thrown in my hair. That’s when I said “No, I’m sticking with jazz.” Then I went to Oscar Peterson with Ella Fitzgerald at the Orpheum (in Vancouver) when I was 16 years old. My mother made me a blue satin jacket. It was one of those life changing things. My cousin took me. I’ll never forget it.
“Singer” Shawn Desman:
It’s a little embarrassing but New Kids on the Block at the Exhibition (in Toronto). I was about nine years old. I loved New Kids. I’m being honest, I don’t care, whatever ya’ll think, I loved New Kids on the Block. It was surreal. I couldn’t believe that the guys that I see on my TV everyday are actually there and I saw them in person. Hopefully my fans get that same kind of feeling. I didn’t have the best seats but I could see the stage.
Singer Jann Arden:
It was Kiss, 1976. The opening act was Pat Benatar. It was in Calgary at the Corral. I went with my friend Patty. I was 14. Where I grew up, Springbank, there were 30 kids in my entire school. So you can imagine how naive we all were. My mom dropped us off. She had no idea what she was dropping us off to. I’m sure I had jeans with chicken shit on them and a T-shirt because we lived in the sticks and it was so loud I was kind of scared. People were drunk and smoking pot. Gene Simmons was drunk and would spit blood out at the crowd and there were all these pyrotechnics.
Actor and part-time singer William Shatner:
It was a Rolling Stones concert in Toronto. I was more a Frank Sinatra fan. I wasn’t connected with rock and roll until much later.
Collective Soul’s Ed Roland:
My dad took me to see Johnny Cash and I thought that was the coolest cat I ever saw in my life – all black, and that guitar. He was cool. I love Johnny. And then it was Liberace second. My dad took me to Liberace and then he took me to Elton John (news) and I’m like, “What is going on?” I was like, “Alright, this is what I want to do dad!”
Collective Soul’s Joel Kosche:
It was Sammy Hagar on the I Can’t Drive 55 tour. That was the first big rock show for me and I was already playing guitar and stuff by then. It was fun. It was an arena . . . where you get that real nervous feeling like, “Wow, something’s gonna happen.” Those were the good old days. A lot of shows used to give you that feeling.
Singer Leslie Feist:
Tina Turner at the Saddledome (in Calgary). I remember it exactly, the whole thing. It was the Private Dancer era. Her hair was enormous. I was a million metres away and her hair was still completely enormous.
When I played the Saddledome in 1999 with By Divine Right I was standing on the stage at the same spot. I was just looking left to right remembering exactly where I sat for Tina Turner and then Janet Jackson and Tiffany.
Singer Andy Kim:
I remember it because music was and still is my sanity. Having seen Roy Orbison play in Montreal was absolutely phenomenal. My older brother took me. I remember the first time I heard Only the Lonely. It was a moment. It was the first time you heard the moan of someone. It’s like the first time you hear a bird sing. He was one of those remarkable musical spirits. He was almost operatic to me. I think I was about 12. I remember two things. The seats were not that great but it didn’t matter. It was my first time in a crowd. Just to hear him, was, I can’t explain it.
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