Aerosmith at the Shoreline Amphitheater: My First Concert

It wasn't until 1994 or 95 that I finally went to my first rock concert. Most people I knew from high school went to them all the time, but I wasn't so lucky darn it. I guess you could say I was seriously deprived during those formative years. Even during Freshman year, I kept hearing about those Poison and Billy Idol shows my classmates went to, and I felt envious of them for far too long.

But thanks to my brother and his then wife, I finally got to go to one headlined by my favorite rock group at the time, Aerosmith. They had just released "Get A Grip" which was their follow up to "Pump," the first record of theirs and still my favorite. Despite having some wonderfully rocking songs like "Livin' On The Edge" and "Shut Up And Dance" among others, "Get A Grip" didn't quite compare to "Pump" which I felt was irresistibly unhinged rock and roll, but it certainly wasn't boring.

Anyway, the concert took place at the Shoreline Ampitheater in Northern California on October 8, 1994. Before going to it, I had been warned by my parents to bring ear protection as concerts are loud, loud, LOUD! Their warnings even reminded me of when my friends talked about seeing Motley Crue or Nine Inch Nails live and of how ear bleedingly loud it was. Some even said that they were sitting next to the speakers to where they left the concerts with massive headaches, holding their heads, and begging for the most immediate cure for their pain.

Collective Soul opened for them, but we missed that as we were running a little late. We ended up sitting out in the grassy section in the way back of the amphitheater. These of course were the "cheap seats," so we had to thank the venue for at least providing us with a big video screen for us to watch the proceedings more closely as were so far away from the stage.

From where we were sitting, I can tell you that the concert was not ear-bleedingly loud, so those foam protectors turned out to be unnecessary. Aerosmith started out warming the audience up with the intro to "Eat The Rich." There was a curtain covering the stage, and once the music began, the whole audience stood up in anticipation of the band making their imminent appearance. Our first look at Steven Tyler was through his silhouette behind a curtain, boogying his way through the spoken word intro of the song. Then the curtain came down, and the concert commenced.

For me, the whole experience of seeing all the members of Aerosmith in person was very surreal. However, watching them through that giant video screen took away from the experience for me. At that point, I was so used to seeing this band in one music video after another, so watching them on the big screen made the whole concert seem less real to me. From where we were, they only appeared as tiny little figures on the stage, and being closer to it would have been far more exciting..

For the most part though, I really did enjoy the concert. Their live version of "Same Old Song And Dance" really made me change the way I listened to that song, and the groove on the last half was very infectious. Joey Kramer had some kick ass drum solos which had me cheering until a couple of guys looked at me like I was messed up on something. Joe Perry had some great solos, and hearing him say Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco Bay Area had us screaming in excitement.

Still, the concert only lasted about two hours, maybe even a bit shorter than. Looking back, this experience was not quite what I thought it would be, but it was certainly not forgettable. It paved the way for me to attend many other concerts that were far more exhilarating to experience. These days I don't go to concerts as much as ticket prices continue to be increasingly obscene, but I hope to head out to one again in the near future. Having Aerosmith be the first band I saw in concert was a good start.