J. Marco – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the alternative rock artist, J. Marco, talks about his first concert ever. You can check out the feature, after the break.

I was lucky enough to see Bruce Springsteen at the age of 8. My parents are both big music fans, and through them, I got to see probably the best lineup of concerts that anyone under the age of 12 has ever seen. As a kid I remember seeing Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, and The Rolling Stones, just to name a few. But, the first of all of those was Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band in Boston Massachusetts. I don’t remember much about getting there, just remember it took a long time to park and it was a long walk to the arena. I was actually a bit overwhelmed at the massive crowd. Every person in a 5 block radius seemed to all have been going to the same concert.

When we got into the arena, I remember seeing hoards of rabid Springsteen fans, all coming to worship at the altar of all things Bruce. There were old and young alike all crammed together frantically trying to buy t-shirts or find their seats. I had never seen anything quite like it at the time. “Who is this guy?” I thought.

I wasn’t very familiar with Springsteen’s catalog at this time, as no 8 year old probably could be. But, that didn’t really matter. Everyone was excited, and I was sold.

We found our seats, and after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, for an 8 year old (probably 20 minutes), the lights dimmed, the stage lights cast a swirling deep blue cutting through the fog & illuminating the microphone, drums, and amps. In what I can only describe as a war cry, everyone in the area was on their feet, screaming, chanting “BRUUUCCCEEE”, ready to see the man we had all been waiting for. The E Street Band took the stage and out walked Bruce. To me, he seemed like a god.

The band started a blistering set full of songs that I mostly can’t remember. I do remember being completely captivated at what I was hearing. I distinctly remember the hook of “Lonesome Day” really resonating with 8 year old me. Being exposed to songs like that probably instilled the deep love of a good hook that I still have to this day. Over the next 3 or 4 hours, my mind was blown, ripped completely from my head, spun around, dipped in the baptismal water of rock and roll, and firmly placed back in. “Oh my god,” I thought. ‘I want to do that, someday.’”

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