Joker’s Hand – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the rap rock duo, Joker’s Hand, talks about the story of their first experiences with live music. You can check out the story, after the break.

Kevin: The first band I saw in concert was The Fab Four. Growing up, my dad used to take me on these long commutes from Alta Dena to Gardena to see my grandparents a few times a week. He drove a station wagon that had a cassette player. We would listen to the same few cassettes over and over again, each of them being compilations of some of his favorite tunes, largely Beatles songs. Having grown up during the height of the British Invasion, The Beatles have and always will be my father’s favorite band, an opinion that both of us share. So when my folks took me to see The Fab Four, not only did I experience my first taste of live music, I also got to see my father relive his own past through the timeless music that had scored his early life. I have so much appreciation for that experience because it felt like I was stepping through a time machine and seeing my heroes right in front of me. They also played a lot of songs that The Beatles never played live, our favorite being “And Your Bird Can Sing.”

Matt: I was pretty late to the concert-going game. It was 2015, the Spring quarter of my first year of college up in Santa Cruz. Being my first time living away from home, I had lots of new experiences that year. This show was one of the best.

I saw Yellowcard play at the Catalyst in downtown Santa Cruz. I remember looking through the venue’s lineups for any band I knew, and there they were—Yellowcard. I didn’t even know many of their songs, but being a guitarist and violinist myself, I knew it’d be so cool to see them. None of my roommates were interested so I ventured into the Catalyst on my own. Band stickers plastered the black walls, heavy speakers towered overhead, and fans of all sorts bumped shoulder to shoulder on the beer-soaked floorboards. What hit me hardest, besides the sheer volume from all the bands that played that night, was how Yellowcard engaged with us, their audience. It wasn’t just song after song, but storytelling, jokes, and sing-a-longs. For a shy kid, finding a space where you could sing with a room of strangers to songs you don’t really know means something. My ears rang the rest of the night and I couldn’t wait to see my next show.

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