1990 - The Jesus and Mary Chain - Universal Amphitheatre

Went to this show with Christine and Shawn I think.

What is most memorable about this show is that

Nine Inch Nails was the opening band.  Well, and the Nymphs.

I remember being blown away by them.  They destroyed the stage.

All their equipment was broken, Trent threw water everywhere.

The stage hands were so upset.  They literally turned on all the lights

to clean up the stage for Jesus and Mary Chain. 

 But they really didn't need too. 

All Jesus and Mary Chain did was stand

way back on the stage and play. 

The singer sat at the front of the stage and sang.

But it was the noise I loved the most.  This was an amazing show.    

The Eighties

And so they end......  The 80's.
That really was the start of my concert going.
There is really something amazing at a live show. 
The energy of the crowd, the excitement, the anticipation.
It's like a drug to me.
In some small way I understand how musicians become addicts.
They want to relive that high they get on stage. 
I want to relive the event.
It starts at the concert announcement for me. 
The ad or the radio promo. 
Then the onsale info. 
It used to be the waiting in line, getting a number or wristband 
to see where you would be placed for tickets. 
Then it got to be using the phone and then the internet.
I loved that whole camping out for tickets.  
Meeting other fans.
Everyone there for the same reason. 
Music playing.  It was so fun. 
Now we are all isolated and we have lost that bond. 
That being a fan bond.     

I have received a few comments on the price of tickets in the 80's.  
Can you believe Jane's Addiction for $10?  Unheard of!!!  
But this is just another example of the times and how they grew. 
How music became such an enormous industry.  
What was the most you ever paid for a concert? 
Just tickets. 
Not travel etc. 
Cause I have a Depeche Mode show that cost a
fortune if we want to get into that!!! 
By this time in the 80's the most I had ever paid was $96
from a ticket agency for my third row Bob Marley seat. 
I could have had a seat in the back but I wanted to be
up front at the Starlight Bowl in Burbank.  
To this day, and considering what an icon he
became, that was the bargain of the century! 
Let me know what yours was.

I have also been asked about the many Cure
and Depeche Mode shows I have been to. 
Where are those stubs? 
I have decided to make individual posts for each of them.
They have meant the most to me over the years so they deserve it!  
And well, I have to locate The Cure stubs. 
I hate moving.  I can't find anything! 
I think I have rounded up most of the DM ones. 
Now if only I can find the right box.......

Now, on to the 90's......              

1989 - The Cult - Long Beach Arena

As the comments state below my memories are

from the show they did in 1987.  I do not have the

ticket stub from this show so I will leave the 

comments as is.  Thanks for the info anon!

New Year's Eve at Long Beach Arena.

Opening bands, Bonham, Dangerous Toys

and Guns and Roses.

Can you believe that? 

Guns and Roses opening for The Cult?

And what an odd set of opening bands for The Cult.

Is this a metal show?  Are The Cult a metal band?

I didn't think so.  They were a KROQ band.

It was an amazing show. 

Not necessarily for the music but for the

antics of the crowd and the bands.

Guns and Roses were really starting to take off and they

were playing to a metal crowd. 

Everyone has been watching their videos on MTV

and they are gonna be huge. 

Guess I don't have to tell you the crowd didn't

really want to see The Cult.

But they were in for a treat and they didn't even know it!

The Cult did their hits and Ian Astbury was

out there with his beautiful hair.

It was great till he decided to crowd surf

and someone stole his boots.

The Arena lights came on.  Police were called. 

And no one was leaving till he got his boots back!

One was thrown at him fairly quickly. 

The other took awhile to get back.

Ian strutted around the stage demanding that he get

his boots back and that he wouldn't

let anyone go till he did! 

It was epic!!!

Eventually it was found and given back. 

The band left the stage.

I don't remember if they came back or not. 

We eventually left to the usual Arena issue of

a rowdy crowd stirred up by the band

and a huge police presence. 

So the windows in the glass stairwells started being broken. 

(This happened a lot at shows.) 

The Arena has since learned to board up the windows

for concerts so this doesn't happen as much anymore.

Great memorable show.

Couldn't find any info on it online.  Shame really.

Hopefully one of you reading will have more to add!!

       

1989 - KROQ X-mas Bash - Universal Amphitheatre

This was the first of what was to become

the KROQ Acoustic Christmas shows.

There used to be a mention of it on the KROQ web-site

and now I can't locate it to get a listing of the bands that played. 

I really only remember Camper Van Beethoven.

They sang a memorable song about the Lincoln Memorial. 

And Food for Feet.  With the guys from Oingo Boingo.

I know there were other bands. 

Maybe Violent Femmes? 

If anyone remembers please leave a comment!     

1989 - Public Image Limited - Universal Amphitheatre

No real memories of this show.  Sad, but true. 

1989 - REM - Pacific Amphitheatre

This was another show with Christine.  Her favourite band at the time was REM.

Looking back now, I am glad I saw them before the illness and fame and age

changed the dynamic of the band.  I do wish I had seen them earlier before they

were a huge MTV band.  Most notable is that Christine and I waited outside the

Amphitheate to see if we could get autographs.  We both got to see

Michael Stipe.  What a great time we had!  This may have been the start

of my staying after shows trying to get autographs.   

1989 - The Damned - Celebrity Theatre

Set List:

See Her Tonite, Fish, Born To Kill, Fan Club, Help, Neat Neat Neat, I Fall, New Rose, I Feel Alright, I Just Can't Be Happy Today, Hey Jo, Wait For The Blackout, Noise Noise Noise, Melody Lee, Love Song, Smash It Up, Daytripper, Looking At You, The Last Time.

A review from the L.A. Times:

The Damned Ends as It Began: Naked and Ablaze

Pop Music Reviews
July 22, 1989
CRAIG LEE
The Damned may not have been the best or most innovative of the English punk groups, but in 1977 this messy goon squad was the first British punk outfit to issue a single and an album, and, most influentially, it was the first to play Los Angeles, serving as the catalyst for a revolutionary style of music and fashion whose ramifications still roar through L.A.'s rock scene.
It's fitting that the group ended the L.A. show of what's billed as its farewell tour on Thursday at the Hollywood Palladium in the same rowdy manner as its debut at the Starwood: with drummer Rat Scabies igniting and demolishing his drums while bassist/guitarist Captain Sensible (definitely not a contender for any health spa endorsements) ran around nude.
Like the title of one of its most ferocious rave-ups, the Damned are still pretty "Neat Neat Neat." Running through a career retrospective, the quartet concentrated on the dark fury of its first and best album before adding a fifth player for later "hits," while a sold-out throng of kids took songs like "Smash It Up" to heart (and body) in the slam pit.
This show also confirmed that underneath the obnoxious behavior and often sloppy, haphazard playing is a band of faithful believers in the liberating spirit of outrageous rock 'n' roll.
Paying tribute to that spirit with crash-and-burn versions of Beatles, Stones, Iggy Pop and MC5 classics mixed in with its own tunes, the Damned proved it deserves a place alongside the musical company it kept. The group plays Anaheim's Celebrity Theatre on Wednesday.

I went to this show with Christine.  It is a little theatre in the round that I had never heard of before this show.
All the seats were good.  I remember I had taken my binoculars not knowing how big or small this place was.  Well, no seat was more than 20 feet or so from the stage.  It was memorable because it was supposed to be the last tour of the original line-up and it was a great show.  Captain Sensible taking his clothes off and well, leaving an impression!  
I do have to say that I have become a huge Rat Scabies fan since then.  I love researching and reading about the Holy Grail and all of the conspiracy and intrigue surrounding it.  Who knew that Rat Scabies is a Grail expert.  His father is one of the most noted researchers on Grail and Rennes-le-Chateau lore and because of his fathers expertise he has become one himself.  A book came out in 2005 called, Rat Scabies and The Holy Grail it is a fantastic journey not only to find the Grail but, about friendship.  By Christopher Dawes.  Read it if you can!