So I was chatting with my uncle Keith recently, and he busted out with a story about how in 2002, he had great seats at an Aerosmith concert at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA. He’d been sitting with his arms crossed, and Steven Tyler looked down, saw him, and mockingly crossed his own arms as if to say, You can’t cross your arms at a rock show, dude. When my Uncle Keith recounted that story to a friend shortly after the concert, another friend, who’d been at the show that night, said to him, "That was you!?!" Awesome.
I wish I had a great concert story like that, but the closest I’ve come to interacting with the artist onstage was sitting next to my friend Sheila when Duran Duran taped their appearance on Viva Variety in 1997. Duran Duran performed their then-new single "Electric Barbarella," and Sheila was the only one in the crowd who already knew the words — which she sang. Simon Le Bon totally looked at her and smiled. I can confirm that (as opposed to my sister’s assertion that Garth Brooks waved to her when we had shitty seats at the Clearfield County Fair many, many years ago).
Do you have a good (legitimate) concert interaction story? Relive it below.
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Ending up at the same nightclub the members o Depeche Mode were at after a concert in Toronto in 1993 and playing 3 rounds of pool with keyboardist Alan Wilder.
Lollapalooza, I forget what year – Snoop Dogg, Tool, Tricky, Korn, James . . . James went on right before Korn, midday, and the crowd was sparse under the pavillion. And a good portion of the crowd was lots of angry teen boys with green hair, sitting down with their arms crossed over their Korn shirts. The last song of James’ set was “Low Low Low,” and Tim Booth came out into the crowd. I happened to be dancing in my illegal aisle seat (hey, there was nobody in there – of course I moved up closer!) and Mr Booth grabbed my hand and the hand of everyone he saw enjoying themselves, and we made a happy hippy conga line throughout the Polaris amphitheater.
Hello fellow Duranie! One of mine was in 05 when Simon Lebon was singing Taste the Summer. He pointed right to me in the second row and sang feel it in your mouth.
This summer I was front Row at Rick Springfield show. We made eye contact for a few seconds, he went back to the mike and messed up the lyrics to the song. I am lucky to have 2 such thrilling moments. Can you guess me age?haha
I got onstage with The Stooges when they played in Philly last year (along with half the crowd). I got to sing a line of “Dirt” with Iggy Pop, which was awesome. I also got to dance onstage with P-Funk a few years ago.
Being caught air-drumming at a 2005 Paul McCartney concert by his drummer, Abe Laboriel, Jr. – he enthusiastically pointed his drumsticks at my friend and me and smiled big!
I’ve been to so many Harry Connick, Jr. concerts that on occasion, if I’m sitting right up front, Harry will talk to me directly. At a show in St. Louis several years back he introduced me, by name, to the entire audience and then proceeded to ask me to rate the audience at that point in the show. I gave them a ‘6′ and got booed by the entire Fox Theatre! HA! I’ve also been on stage and given my own chair to sit in. Harry is so great to his fans.
In the summer of 1997, I went to see LOVERBOY (don’t laugh!) at a club in the Hamptons. It was standing room only and I was right in front of the stage with a girl I’d just met at the show. During “Hot Girls In Love”, lead singer Mike Reno suddenly put the microphone in front of my mouth and I belted out a part of the main chorus. He smiled and we slapped hands after that. Now, combine that moment with the fact that I ended up sleeping with the girl I’d met at that club, it all added up to a pretty great night!
In 97, at a Barenaked Ladies concert, lead singer Ed Robertson acknowledged our “Church of Ed” sign in front of the whole crowd. The only one of the commandments I remember now is “Thou shalt not throw thy dinner early.” We may have passed the sign up on to the stage. God, we were dorks.
I have to tell my Liz Phair story again: I was on the front row and could read the set list, and “H.W.C.” wasn’t on there. So halfway through the show my friend and I made a little sign that said “H.W.C. Please!” She saw it and sort of nodded at us, then a song or two later said, “I don’t usually play this one in the South ‘cuz it’s kinda dirty and people get upset… But I think it’s cute when you guys hold up signs.” Then she played it! AND as she was walking off stage at the end of the show, I held up the concert tee I’d just bought and a Sharpie, and she totally ran down to the edge of the stage to sign her autograph for me. It was awesome.
In high school, I went to a Live concert, during which we ladies were encouraged to throw our bras on stage. They had a huge pile by the end of it, and they invited us to come up and reclaim our bras – and hug lead singer Ed Kowalczyk in the process! Ok, perhaps not my finest moment, flinging my bra in front of hundreds, but definitely worth it!
The same cross-armed incident as the reporter — at a Carrot Top show in Las Vegas last year.
Not exactly a concert, and the seats were tight, hence the crossed arms. So he made fun of me for the bad body language, but I really was enjoying the show! He was really funny.
@ “Arsenio Billingham” – BNL really are the nicest guys, aren’t they? I have heard more stories about them than I can count, and suffice it to say I have my own, but they all just make me sound like someone who has been to *way* too many concerts.
Freshman year of college, a friend and I saw Ben Folds. Afterwards we met him by the door and he talked to us for a bit, signed our set list, took a picture with us, and asked if there is anything we wanted to hear that he didn’t play. Sure enough, next time he came he played “Kate” and “Evaporated”. When I met him again after the show, Ben not only recognized me, he said that he played the songs for us and asked me “where is the tall girl?”. (My friend was at a wedding and missed the show). The next time was at a different venue. He played a song I shouted out from the front row, but couldn’t talk to people after because he was going to visit a crew member in the hospital. I hope there will be a new story after I see him next month!
Tonic opened for the Verve Pipe and while VP was finishing their show – I had no idea – the Tonic guys were making their way thru the audience to join VP on stage. Some girl had been ticking me off and when my sandaled foot was stepped on I punched out. It was Emerson Hart, the Tonic lead singer. As he was getting his breath back, he was holding my arm apologizing and asking if I was alright. I was too shocked to ask him if he was ok! Very nice guy.
I’ve got an old high school buddy who plays for the band “Phantom Planet”. When his band came to DC this year, he invited me to their show.
So I find these great “Phantom Planet-Raise the Dead” posters right outside of the concert hall and brought it in with me.
Having never heard much of this band (aside from that awesome “California” song), I was psyched to check them out and to support my friend.
So, during the show I start busting out my Phantom Planet sign, all proud to be giving them props. A few minutes later, one of their roadies walks up to me and says “hey dude, you’re holding the sign upside down”. oops!
Oh yeah, and I talked smack to Anton Newcombe when Brian Jonestown Massacre played in DC’s Velvet Lounge in 2002. I saw “Dig” a few years later, and realized what a bad idea audience interaction with Anton Newcombe can be…
I think my best “concert interaction story” was when I saw Jane Siberry (now known as “Issa”) many years ago at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto. I was in the second row, and was having a high old time. Someone shouted out “I love you, Jane,” which she apparently did not hear, because she asked the shouter to repeat it, so I said: “he said that he loves you, but I love you more,” to which Jane replied “I love you, too….” I was properly gobsmacked.
I met Trent Reznor in New Orleans in 1995. He was in the last place you’d expect to find him – Tropical Isle. But I guess that was the point, because no one in there knew who he was except for me and my friend. Hell of a nice guy. Really humble and appreciative back then.
Of course, that wasn’t during a concert…so nevermind.
Saw Moby in April this year at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. Was right up front (literally inches from the stage). They had a case of beer on stage that required a bottle opener, and as they didn’t have one, and weren’t going to be able to go through the crowd to get one, I ended up as the de facto bartender for Moby and his entire band (plus the other bands they called up on stage at the end) for the entire evening. Thankfully, I keep a bottle opener on my keychain. At the end of the night, he made it a point of shaking my hand and thanking me, as did a number of other band members. It was very cool, and was totally worth it for the $8 I spent on the ticket.
A few years ago, I saw El Vez, and we were there early enough to get pretty close to the front. Once the show started, we were squeezed up to the front row. During one of the breaks, El Vez put his shoe right in my face, and I touched it. He was outraged and then sang “Don’t Mess with My Blue Suede Shoes” DIRECTLY TO ME (even the backup singers were pointing and singing to me). It was humiliating and awesome, all at the same time.
I went to a Ryan Star concert (of rockstar supernova) a couple years ago in a small club a few months after the show ended. My roommate and I won ‘VIP’ tickets by re-writing the lyrics his song ‘Back of your Car’ to a song about going to the concert.
at the conert he dedicated a song to us because, quote, ‘we rock’.
Afterwards when we met him, he even sang the chorus of our re-written lyrics to us!
It was pretty awesome
Went to see The Cult at Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT back in the early 90’s. Before the show I was waiting in line for the bathroom when the entourage went walking by. This unbelievably hot woman was with them. Ian got one look at my bugged-out eyes and gaping mouth that he just had to laugh and give me “the nod.”
Another Toad’s Place story from New Haven, CT: standing at the coat check after a Concrete Blonde show, we noticed that the door to the green room was wide open. We poked our heads inside and were immediately invited in by Johnette herself. Ended up hanging with the band for an hour. They came back a year later and actually remembered our names. Really cool chick.
Went to see The Go-Go’s reunion about ten years ago at The Globe in Norwalk, CT. Belinda invited a bunch of people on stage for an 80’s dance contest, and I won!
I have to tell you about the wonderful, enigmatic Peter Gabriel. During his 1987 “So” tour, he was still playing “Lay Your Hands On Me”, in which he would stage dive and the crowd would pass him around. Well, after rushing the stage, he saw me getting crushed by the crowd, smiled, nodded his head and chose me. He stood in front of me, turned around at which point I grabbed his heels, and he fell back into the crowd. As he finally rolled back on stage, his face was mere inches from mine. What could I say? I said “thank you”, at which he smiled again, but never said a word.
Do you think he remembered me in 1992 during the “Us” tour, in which he threw me a broken drumstick he used, the ONLY thing to come off the stage?
Got invited back stage after a B-52’s concert at some club in Long Island (so long ago I can’t remember the name). Sitting there with the band were David Byrne and Chris & Tina from the Talking Heads, and also Paul Schaeffer from Letterman. We just sat in the corner like speechless idiots!
Then there was the time I got drunk with Michael Nesmith of the Monkees, but that was in the ’80s, and not at a concert. But still, a nice brush with fame!
Went to a Garth Brooks concert in Fort Worth about 12 years ago and got picked by one of Garth’s staff to get a second row seat (first couple of rows used to be given out at concert). Near the end, Garth came by shaking hands of everybody in the front row. Not wanting to be left out, I rolled up my sleeve to show him my Garth logo tattoo. He noticed me, leaned way over to shake my hand, and then pointed at my tattoo and yelled, “Yeah!” Highlight of my concert-going experiences.
In 2006, I went to see the Dixie Chicks on their Accidents & Accusations tour. Just as much in support as in that, well…I think they are exTREMEly talented and love their music. This WAS the 8th time to see them, after all. Anyhoo. I was in the 4th row and during a song break, I flashed ‘em the “I love you” sign and Natalie looked at me and said “We love you, too”.
I spent about an hour talking to the guys from Trixter outside of Congress Street Station in 1990. ROCK!!!