The first rock concert I ever attended was Sabbath in 1972, I was 13. I remember it like it was yesterday...my friend Mike McDuffy's dad dropping us off across the street from the St. Paul Civic Center arena, running across the busy street and almost getting hit by cars, the absolute sonic and aural awakening inside of the arena as they took the stage and launched into War Pigs...I was changed forever.
I would go on to attend hundreds of shows, seeing almost everyone live that I could ever dream of. The Rolling Stones every tour from '72 to '89, Every Zeppelin tour in the '70s from that point, the Who, Paul McCartney and Wings, Springsteen a hundred times, dozens of punk and/or New Wave shows, etc. I saw Nirvana at the Roxy in '91, Blondie and Elvis Costello in a crowded basement club in Mpls. in '77, Iggy at the same club, you name it.
Still, that Sabbath show was the most memorable. Years later, due to the strangeness of life, I became friends with John Osborne and his son Jack. Btw, no one close to him called him Ozzy, (not that he minded), it was either John or dad. We talked a lot about me giving him driving lessons so that he could get his license and drive a car that he had, I think it was a '70s Firebird TA. It was special to him. I can't remember if he never learned to drive in life or if he just lost his license due to being loaded all the time...it's all a bit fuzzy now. At any rate, I never really knew why he liked me but I was stoked. I look like a Republican...white hair/pink skin and old, though I was younger then.
It never came to pass, (the driving lessons), though the thought of teaching him to be a good driver in LA was a "challenge accepted" thing that I would have loved. Life got in the way and I eventually lost touch with him as I have with almost everyone I knew in my more social days, I'm a bit of a happy hermit now. I still see Jack once in a while and it's always a big hug and talk, he is a great guy. He has his own health challenges.
The crazy thing is that at one point when I was hanging out with John, I realized that I'd never mentioned to him about that Sabbath show in 1972. Somehow, I had completely separated Ozzy Osborne from John, the sweet old dude with health issues. I guess I never said a word about Sabbath, being a fan, etc... That might seem weird to some but not to me.