Super Lucky to Be There
That time Freddy Mercury practically sweated on me
I usually take in several rock shows each year. Some of them stand out to me as particularly special. An event doesn’t need to be objectively recognizable as important, such as the original Woodstock, to be meaningful to a music lover.
What makes some concerts truly unforgettable? I’m not talking about bragging rights; this is about experiences. Using shows I feel super lucky to have seen, I’ll explore some factors that can make a live music event really stand out.
Before they were huge
Nothing is quite as lucky as seeing an artist or band before they get really big. The first live show I ever went to featured an act that would become legendary.
Days after I turned 14, I went to a major rock concert in my own backyard. Well, not my personal backyard, but at my high school’s football stadium six blocks from home. Summer Celebration ’78 was headlined by Bob Segar and the Silver Bullet Band. Cheap Trick had to cancel, unfortunately, at the last minute. Brownsville Station and a couple of local acts rounded out the lineup.
Who opened for Bob Segar? None other than Van Halen.
They had released their first album six months earlier. VH was getting decent radio…
