Remember it like it was yesterday, Black Sabbath @ St. Paul Civic Center in fall or winter '71. I was 12. I remember my buddy's dad dropping us off on 7th st. in front and being young enough that he was worried about us getting hit by a car crossing, it's a busy street and we were so excited that our feet were barely touching the ground. It was the "War Pigs" tour, when "Paranoid" was the current album. Have that CD in my 996 today. Funny thing is that through the randomness of life, I'm pretty good friends w/ Ozzy today and I've never told him that story. Always mean to, but forget. He's a funny guy.
That started a career of seeing shows at a frantic pace for the next 15 years or so, I've seen basically every band worth a damn that ever played, some several times. Every Stones tour from '72 to '89, every Zepelin tour in '70s, the Who twice, Floyd @ Tampa Bay stadium frying on acid in '77, etc., etc... Plus a lot of great R&B shows including James Brown in a night club in Mpls.
Went to hundreds of shows when punk rock landed @ age 18, Mpls. was a great place to grow up if you loved music and then I moved to L.A. in '82. I went to HS w/ Prince, so I was a fan from the word "go" and saw him @ 1st Ave. multiple times. Same w/ the Replacements.
Don't make many shows anymore, 49 y.o. and have seen it all. An exception will be Rage Against the Machine playing Mpls. during the GOP convention in a couple weeks. Wouldn't miss that for all the tea in China.
