The Artist Life – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the alternative rock band, The Artist Life, talks about their first experiences with live music. You can check out the story, after the break.

Ian – Vocals/Guitar. (photo – Erin Blackwood)
My first official concert was New Kids On The Block when I was 8 years old back in 1990. But instead of trying to remember that one I’ll talk about my second concert. Gob & Another Joe in ’96 at the Opera House in Toronto. The mosh-pit was insane and I’ll never forget crowd surfing for the first time ever. The show was completely packed. There must have been 800+ sweaty and stoked people. My friend Dan and I knew ALL the lyrics to Gob’s song’s as we’d been meticulously studying their records for the past few months leading up to the show, so sure enough the evening was full of voice blowouts and constant screaming in each other’s ears. I remember leaving that show a new person with fresh Gob and Another Joe merch in tow; I wanted to play in a punk rock band and I wanted to play the stage at the Opera House in Toronto one day.

A half-decade later (and not a frontman yet), on the SnoJam Tour in 2001 I’d open for AFI on that very stage during my time playing drums for the Punk band Jersey. I’ll never forget the BOOM of the kick spilling out next to me from the drum’s stage monitor. I had no idea what that sounded or felt like because up until that moment I had only ever played small venue shows with minimal sound systems. It was a dream come true for me to return five years later to the venue I always wanted to play. This time the mosh-pit and some of the sweaty crowd were there to see my band. It was an amazing feeling.

Jake – Drums. (photo – Aaron Schwab)
My first concert was Age Of Electric and Zuckerbaby at Lee’s Palace in Toronto. (I just googled it… ) October 8th, 1997.

My mom drove me and my friend, Travis, to the show. She was pretty hip. She was a teacher and used to ask her high school students what bands were lit and then she would bring me home a tape like Offspring Smash… It was pretty cool. But in this case, I THINK I wanted to go to this show cause AOE had a single on MuchMusic or the Toronto rock station Edge 102.1 called “Remote Control.”

Anyway, my mom waited in the car in the parking lot behind Lee’s the whole time and we went inside. Back then you could still smoke inside the clubs and venues (it was awesome). The room was packed and reeked of weed and darts and the lights were yellowed from years of rock n’ roll venue air. I remember liking the sort of community vibe from the door guy to the coat check to the merch table to the bar and even the stage. The whole operation of the room was more community based back then. When I left the show I definitely had body surfed a few times and had head-banged my way to having to lay in bed for a week unable to move. Crazy to think back to that evening and I was only 12 years old.

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