Remember Ticket Stubs?
🎟️ What were some of your most memorable concerts?
Do you remember ticket stubs?
If you’re over 40, chances are good that you still have some in a drawer or an old shoe box. The little perforated paper receipts would live in my wallet for weeks before a show and many got folded or crumpled in my pocket but somehow some of them actually survived. Before iPhones and digital passes, those stubs were proof that I was there. I’ve got a solid handful remaining, many worn out, torn and frayed at the edges, but still packed with stories. This week, join me as I “flip” through some of my analog archive, giving a nod to a time when memories came printed on flimsy card stock. Although many here are from Ticketmaster, which many of us loathe, take a look at those prices!
This was the day that Jerry Garcia died. Bob Weird said Jerry would have wanted him to play, and so he did. It was the summer I worked at the Hampton Beach Club Casino Ballroom and had access to every show. I’m glad I was able to witness this show in person and with great friends. After the set, which ended with an encore of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, everyone proceeded to exit out the back and into a sea of hippies, deadheads, and music fans as far as the eye could see.
I have seen The Magnetic Fields perform about six or seven times, including a two-night set at this same venue for the 69 Love Songs original tour in 1999. This, however, was the second night on tour in support of their album Distortion, which was released in January 2008. Every performance is magical because Stephin Merritt is one of the best songwriters on planet Earth, and the band never disappoints.
Talk about a venue with outstanding acoustics, the Berklee Performance Center was sonically and visually an exceptional place to see music, especially a band like Sigur Rós. They were on tour in support of their Untitled album, and they performed with Amina, a beautiful string quartet also from Iceland.
I went to Orlando, Florida, for conferences while working in IT. It was almost every other year, and in 2010, I attended the Help Desk Institute Conference at the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center. It was dull, boring, and uninteresting. I found my people, and we skipped the second day to drive over to the Winter Park neighborhood for lunch and to visit a Park Ave CDs, then head to The Hard Rock Cafe to see AIR. It wasn’t sold out, but it was super fun. I wondered what type of crowd a French electronic duo might receive at a Florida Family Resort. Now I know…
Sorry, it’s blurry, but just like the ticket stub, so is my memory of this damn show. I remember that Justin Harwood played bass, which was very cool since he was a member of The Chills, a sensation 80’s/90’s pop group from New Zealand. It’s hard to believe that it was over 25 years ago this show took place at The Paradise, one of my all-time favorite small club venues. I think it was in support of "The Days of Our Nights," their fifth studio album.
What a fantastic evening at The Bell Centre in Montreal to see the reunited Van Halen, sans Michael Anthony. David Lee Roth couldn’t jump, but it was the only time I ever saw my boyhood idol Eddie Van Halen play live. The seats were high above the ice, or the stage, and the sound was decent, and they played all the early hits. Still, the night ended with us cabbing to see Ninjatune’s DJ Vadim at La Sala Rossa afterwards, up on the plateau where we ran into some folks who thought I was Jim Breuer from Half Baked fame.
Before Questlove and Black Thought were household names, they toured colleges, and it was in the gym at Bowdoin College where I saw them perform with The Roots for the first time. Only six bucks!
Wooo! Hooo! Yep, the most popular song from Blur came out that year, but have you heard the rest of the album? It’s brilliant. Favorite tracks include "I'm Just a Killer for Your Love" and “You’re So Great.” We had orchestra seats for less than $ 20, and you got to see two great bands: The Dandy Warhols and Blur! Here’s the setlist.
Do you remember this band? One of Boston’s best from the 1990s. They were finalists in the WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble a few years before their Warner Bros. albums were released. I was obsessed with their 1993 album, “Sleeper,” which featured the song “Super Collider.”
I was a sophomore at UNH, and my buddy Peter and I drove down in my maroon two-door 1988 4-speed Volkswagen Fox hatchback to The Meadowlands to see Sting and The Grateful Dead. I bought three bootleg tour shirts, all of which were in the parking lot, and they have all long disappeared. I’ll never forget this show. We were on the 20-yard line inside Giants Stadium, and it was one of two times I got to see Jerry Garcia live. It was also the only time I saw a guy get kicked out of a show for tripping too hard and asking us all, Why?
A bunch of us made the trip down on winter break from college to see Phish and the famous hot dog swing around the rafters at the old Boston Garden. This is another show that I can’t remember very well. Still, I do remember sleeping on the floor at a party in the Back Bay of Boston afterwards and taking the train back to my friend’s parents’ house for great hospitality and a beautiful, delicious, and warm breakfast on New Year’s Day.
The break-up of Throwing Muses, or the exit of Tanya Donnelly, created Belly. I remember heading to this show in a blizzard, getting stuck at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle, and thinking it was a bad omen of things to come, but in reality, the snow turned to rain as we approached the city, and the show went on as scheduled. After the show, I bought a purple tour t-shirt and even got to say hi to Ms. Donnelly afterwards. Feed the Tree was everywhere.
My second time seeing Tortoise at The Somerville Theatre was quite different from the Middle East downstairs... a much bigger venue! My buddy Peter and I made the trek down to grab dinner at Redbone’s BBQ and the nearby show. It was the first show where the opening act just played a laptop. Tortoise was touring in support of their new release, Standards, on Thrill Jockey Records.
The second time seeing Jerry Garcia and the Warlocks with Bob Dylan in a giant field, just about 2,000 feet from the Canadian border in northern Vermont. The thing I remember most about this show is the apocalyptic-looking, Mad Max-like woman wearing black athletic shoulder pads with metal studs, tons of black makeup, piercings—even a bull-nose ring—with what looked like the skull of a dog with feathers on her head. She walked up to me with that intimidating cane and asked how to find the closest gas station. I immediately walked away and back to my tent for the rest of the evening. The dead were probably pretty good.
Oh, Dolores. You were such a talent and will be sorely missed by many.
I couldn’t play this album enough once I bought it at Circuit City in Portsmouth, NH. Seeing The Cranberries at the Paradise Rock Club was mainly a sing-along, as we knew most of the lyrics of every song they performed that evening. I didn’t recall an opening act.
Sani-Kan! That’s what I called the rows and rows of porta-potties lined up outside the show. Kid Koala opened, followed by a short set from the Beta Band, and then Radiohead took the stage. What a show! This one was long, with two encores, and I remember taking two cars down for this mini-festival, which was held at a horse track near Logan International Airport in East Boston. This was the summer of Amnesiac. Here’s the setlist.
There was nothing like seeing a quality show in your backyard. I was lucky enough to see many shows at The University of New Hampshire, beginning with The Red Hot Chili Peppers on May 6, 1990. Many amazing acts came through campus, but here are two that stick out — The Beastie Boys on November 4, 1992, and Bim Skala Bim with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones on September 25, 1992.
I’ll probably post a follow-up with more ticket stubs of more shows at some point, but that’s enough for this week. What are some of your most memorable concerts?
Here’s a playlist of the above ticket stubs. I hope you enjoy.
Until next week, thanks again for reading!
