I am 37, and have been attending concerts for 25 years now. Here are my memories. When possible, I will include a picture of the ticket stub if it is legible although that may not always be possible.

The very first concert stub I have wasn't even readable anymore so you will just have to take my word for it.

The first concert I had ever seen was Yes'"Going for the One" tour in 1977 at The Chicago Stadium Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.. I had actually "lucked into" this ticket. What happened was my mom's boyfriend at that time had bought 3 tickets to go see Yes. Originally they were meant for my mom, her boyfriend Danny, and a friend of his. At the last minute the friend couldn't go so they were either going to eat the ticket or find someone fast. When unable to find a taker, I was recruited. Not that I minded. I was ecstatic. I WAS GOING TO GO SEE YES !!!

I remember going in the Stadium for that Yes show and feeling like I had entered a new world. My father had taken me to The Stadium many times to see the Chicago Blackhawks play, and the first thing I noticed was the difference in the crowd disparity between hockey games and concerts.

First of all, the people at the concert were considerably younger than the old men and their sons that would attend the games for the most part. There were A LOT OF PRETTY GIRLS at this concert. I remember seeing girls wearing tight Peter Frampton concert T-shirts with no bras, their nipples protruding outwards. WOW!!! I remember just discovering about girl-nipples after seeing Jacqueline Bissett in the infamous wet T-shirt scene from "The Deep" and that they made something happen down in the nether region of my groin. The women/girls that went to the 'Hawks games looked NOTHING like these concert babes. And the dudes were all for the most part "long haired hippie freaks," as my dad liked to call them. I actually thought they were kind of cool-looking, music-loving pirates with their unkempt grooming and their leather biker vests. I remember staring at these guys in awe thinking "Man, these dudes got it made. They don't have to take a shower unless they want to."

Yes was undoubtedly one of the biggest concert draws in arenas in the '70s. In those days, it wasn't uncommon for a major rock band to play 3 to 5 shows for a tour in major markets. I believe that they were playing 3 shows in Chicago; our tickets were for the last show. At that time, Yes was touring "in the round." What that meant was Yes' stage set-up was actually a circular stage constructed in the middle of the arena that would rotate on an axle, enabling you to see the band at different vantage points throughout the show. We were actually sitting about 10 rows back from the stage.

Then the main lights went out in the Stadium and I noticed some more differences. Mainly, that it was dark. I could only make out people within 20 yards of me. When the 'Hawks were playing the only lights were bright white and I could see every person in that place. And why is everybody smoking in here? At the 'Hawks games my dad always had to go in the hallway to go have a smoke otherwise the Andy Frain ushers would come and shoo him off. What kind of funky cigars and cigarettes are these people smoking? They smell funny, nothing like any cigarette or cigar I ever smelled. And why weren't cameras allowed in? That made no sense to me at all as I watched people have their hidden cameras confiscated. I was so naive then.

As the concert proceeded I just absorbed as much as I could. It was my first concert, but I knew Yes pretty well and was singing along with "Starship Trooper" when the guy next to me said something to my mom like, "Wow, that is so cool—your son is into Yes," and my mom just smiled at him. About 5 minutes later the same guy asked my mom and Danny if they wanted to get high, which they politely declined. Then, when he lit up the joint I understood the correlation of getting high and that funky cigarette smell. These people at this concert were SMOKING POT! And the thing was, they were cool people, not some crazy killing machines that I preceived potheads as being.

I remember watching Steve Howe, the guitarist from Yes playing his pedal steel guitar during "Going for the One" and wondering "WTF is that thing he is playing?" Chris Squire is an enormous figure as it is, but as I watched him playing his Rickenbacker bass guitar, I kept thinking "Wow, that guy has bigger hands than Kareem Abdul Jabbar.". Of course, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, and Alan White were appealing to me with their stage performances but I was so impressed with the showmanship of Howe and Squire that I focused on them whenever possible.

After every song the crowd would roar its approval and hold their Bic lighters aloft lit in unison. It was amazing the first time I saw it. I felt like I was in a holy place. I had found my religion and it was called Rock n'' Roll. I was hooked.

As we left, I remember seeing a couple of people strapped down on stretchers being put into ambulances. I had seen stretchers before at the 'Hawks games but it was always for a hurt player or a spectator that got hurt from a flying puck or seat brawl. I didn't see flying pucks or fights so I didn't understand what happened. Looking back it is obvious it was a bad acid trip most likely IMO. So I asked my mom what happened. Her response was:"They smoked some marijuana and they are taking them to the hospital until they get their minds back."

I actually bought that explanation. Like I said, I wasn't hip to what was up yet. But that would all change sooner than later. Little did I know that I was just starting to enjoy one of my favorite activities: Going to concerts.

Next show: U.F.O. with Judas Priest as the opening act @ The Ampitheater in Chicago, Ill. U.S.A.

Until then, KEEP ROCKING!

Keep on Rockin' in teh Free World. Send us e-mail at editor@corporatemofo.com