First Concert: Rush – 1986

The only concert I ever sat in line for was my first concert. I don’t remember exactly what the date was when they went on sale, but I remember it was cold, and we were there for several hours. The details are fuzzy, but I know we were there while it was dark, so I’ll assume we got there around midnight and the tickets went on sale when the record store opened at 8AM. The concert was on March 28, 1986 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, so the ticket probably went on sale in the dead of winter in East Lansing. I remember the father of one my friends took us there and hung out with us a while, but I don’t think he stayed the entire time. Leaving three 15 year old boys on a sidewalk in a college town camping out for tickets wasn’t a big deal back then.

Our seats were worse.

We got a ride to Detroit from Lansing from one of our parents, I don’t even recall if it was one of mine. It didn’t matter. We were on our way to see an epic arena-rock concert in an actual arena. I didn’t have anything to compare it to, and wouldn’t for a few years, so I had no idea what to expect other than the most awesome thing I had ever seen.

It was, and probably still is, one of the biggest shows I’ve ever seen, both in the size of the crowd and the show on stage.  For a 15-year-old it was an epic event. They had a huge backdrop with movies and images projected on it, though I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I didn’t care. The quality was actually pretty bad compared to shows I would see later in life, but I would bet it was pretty cutting edge for it’s time.