Beth, I can help you.
Watching Beth on Rockwiz tonight I was surprised to hear her first concert – Big Pig, I’m Talking and a couple of other bands she couldn’t remember at the tennis centre, now Rod Laver Arena. Well Beth it pains me to say that I can tell you the other two bands were Johnny Diesel &The Injectors and Ice House. I will never forget one girl holding up a sign saying ‘Iva Davies You Are My Obsession’. We only went to see Big Pig and high tailed it out of there before Iva made it on stage. You may have seen me – I would have been wearing faded jeans, a white t-shirt and fawn coloured jacket. Oh, the 80s, what crimes we did commit. (Marita, no comments from you!)
I guess as Beth shared hers with the nation I should at least share mine with both of my readers.
My nana took me to see Slim Dusty at the Shepparton Civic Centre. I must have been about 10. The concert would probably have been called something like ‘Slim Dusty and Friends’ though because I can remember feeling distinctly jibbed at the end of the show when, after (what seemed like) hours of sitting on those rickety fold down green seats listening to his wife, children, friends, relations and some guy he may have picked up at the last truck stop, the great man himself only performed a few songs at the end of the night. Still, my lovely nana brought me a copy of ‘Walk A Country Mile’ on tape and a signed pic. I also remember walking home on a cold Shepparton night and that I got to stay at her place, which was always a treat. Not as cool as Big Pig (although cooler than Ice House) but I wouldn’t swap the memory for anything.
You didn’t happen to record this did you, Tony? Please say you did. I missed it.
*mutters*Stoopid birthday parties.
PS – first concert? NKOTB. Heh. Such a DAG!
I did Ren, will keep it for you.
I felt like such a loser saying that was my first concert, because when I told my mum later on, she said “Well MY first concert was the Stones playing at Forest Hill – and my second was Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin on the same bill.” Yeah, like she planned it – I KNOW her older brother just dragged her along. But it kind of has more rock cred than Icehouse!
I’m sure that was the ‘Great Southern Land’ period – I associate that concert with that film ‘Young Einstein’. I was probably wearing black jeans, lime green singlet, permed red hair and a scowl.