Mikey – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the pop artist, Mikey, chats about the first concert that he went to growing up. You can check out the story, after the break.

It was the summer of 2007 when two of my best friends and I talked one of their parents into taking us to what would be my first concert experience. I had heard of the Vans Warped Tour through hours of researching all my favorite bands online but had never been allowed to attend. The drive to finally make it happen was increased when I realized I could see my favorite band at the time, Coheed & Cambria, perform there. One of my friends parents agreed (I’m sure reluctantly) and I was ready for it.

I remember sitting in the standstill traffic leading up to Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ and barely being able to contain my excitement. The day is a bit of a blur looking back, but I’ll never forget fighting our way towards the front of the crowd to see Coheed. I’ll remember even more vividly forever the adrenaline rush hearing the opening riff of “Welcome Home” and finally getting to experience being part of a crowd of people brought together by the love of music. They played the hits and I was thrilled and we eventually moved on to see other bands we loved at the time like Killswitch Engage, New Found Glory & Mayday Parade (I think). I’ll never forget the disappointment when our parental chaperone told us he was ready to go just as Paramore was about to start their set. Luckily the following summer I got to witness them on the “Riot!” tour in Asbury Park with Jacks Mannequin & Phantom Planet which was technically my first non-festival concert.

I was a part of that musical scene for most of my formative years when it came to performing and developing my love for music. Even though after years of writing and learning about myself I naturally moved into the pop world, I still credit a lot of how I view music to that time of my life. The sense of community I felt after years of going to, and a couple times being able to perform at Warped Tour, has stuck with me as how I want my shows to feel. There’s nothing like the adrenaline rush of live music and I’ll never forget my first time witnessing it as an awkward 13 year old at Warped.

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