The Tours I Never Got To See ...

The year was 1981. I ditched football (as in American or Gridiron Football to clarify to my friends) practice to head to the Kingdome to see The Rolling Stones. The tickets cost SIXTEEN DOLLARS (!) and that was for upper deck seats. I have never been the same.

We all love to swap stories about how many great shows we’ve been to.

There was the time Bob and I were at The Firm and the wall broke, but we did get to be mere feet from Jimmy Page. There was the time that Robert Plant finally decided it was okay to play Led Zeppelin songs and “In The Evening” kicked in and it was like Beatle-mania. I had great floor seats for Paul McCartney in the Kingdome after camping out all night in the cold at the old Frederick & Nelson at Aurora Village in the days before “the internets”. Similarly, there was camping out for Def Leppard tickets during the Hysteria tour in the cold of Pullman. And, there are times where we’ve all wanted to go to a show and couldn’t and listened in silent jealous rage (usually silent anyway) as our friends rubbed our noses in it about “how great it was” and how “it would have been so cool if you could have made it”. Even the best of friends can be passive aggressive jerks.

We endure stories and revel in our own. I would have loved to have seen The Kinks in 1983, Eric, and been able to witness the Dave Davies Incident.

I am fortunate in that I have been to a lot of concerts, club shows, band rehearsals, and the like as a fan, a journalist, etc ... and it is fun to be the passive aggressive jerk and tell those stories.

But ... there are those shows that we wanted to go to so bad that it still hurts now. Of course, some of these hurt more than others.

We have to miss out on stuff in life, it’s just life. Things like school, location, money, time, jobs, conflicting events, kids … they all play a factor in that.

Years later I saw many of these performers. Some were worth the wait, others weren’t, but that is all beside the point. And, this is not even a complete listing.

U2 1987 Joshua Tree Tour – I tried for four hours on the phone to get through to get tickets for a show that would have required a road trip from Pullman to Vancouver BC. My roommates were mad I was tying up the phone, which was hardly a problem since other issues led to me moving out shortly thereafter.

The Police 1983 Synchronicity Tour – Ended up going to Peelers (my high school club soccer team) practice that night at 60 Acres (60 Acres is where the Mighty, Mighty Panthers played this year and where I would later break my right ankle on my first wedding anniversary). Lance missed practice due to his birthday, since it turned out his dad took him to the show.

Iron Maiden 1982 Beast on the Road Tour – a Mercer Arena show with Saxon and Fastway. ‘nuff said. You can also add the 1984 tour with Twisted Sister to this list since I can remember being a jerk to the stoners in wood shop that actually got to go.

Metallica 1993 Tour – I really though Robin was surprising me with tickets as we drove into Seattle. As we drove past the Mercer Street exit and it was clear I was not going to Memorial Stadium and I started sulking she caught on. I still think that is why she surprised me with Pearl jam tickets in 1998 at the same venue.

Ozzy Osbourne 1986 Tour – Ozzy on tour with Metallica. Gary went to the show in Kentucky before Cliff’s death and still rubs it in to this day.

Journey 1981 Tour – I know … but everyone on the football team (same team as in the above Stones mention) wanted to go. It was peer pressure at its worst.

AC/DC 1981/82 Tour – Henry went, rubbed it in, and it bothered me for years. I finally saw them in 1988 with Bob and they were great, so I can tell Ringo that yes, I have seen AC/DC in concert. But, I really wanted to go to this tour.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood 1985 Tour – Don’t ask. One of those things I could not admit to back then was that the album they were touring on was one of the great records of the 80s. I almost took my brother’s girlfriend, pretending to be doing it so he didn’t have to go. I later took her to Big Time Wrestling when he had to work once and regretted it.

BOC/Black Sabbath 1980ish Black and Blue Tour – I actually remember driving past Memorial Stadium that night to visit my godparents with the family. I went outside to try and hear it from their house on Queen Anne. There was noise, but no luck. I did see BOC several times later and I did see Dio in 1985, but this was the tour to see both.

Duran Duran 1984 Tour – Again, I could not admit that I wanted to go and therefore simply could not go or risk being spotted. I secretly envied Kristi et al for a long time, until 2005 when I got to go to the Duran Duran reunion with Kristi et al and admitted over dinner to everyone that I had wanted to go 20 years earlier. A piece for this blog and paulsbasement.org is in the works.

Candlebox 1994 Tour – They were playing in Pullman and I just couldn’t make the scheduling work due to soccer coaching commitments.

Foo Fighters 1994 Tour – They were playing the CUB Ballroom, the very same CUB Ballroom Alice in Chains played in 1989. I regret this one very, very much.

Soundgarden 1989 Tour – They also played the CUB, but the lower level. A guy in my Bible As Literature class rubbed it in. I think he wore the tee shirt to class several times after that to just be a jerk.

Keith Richards 1989ish Talk is Cheap Tour – Keith played The Paramount on that tour and I think I couldn’t go because of school. That would have been a cool show.

Van Halen 1986 5150 Tour – This show was across the street from my dorm. However, tickets sold out very quickly while I was deciding if I even wanted to see the Van Hagar version of Van Halen. I should have gone, just on general principle.

The Rolling Stones 2002/2006 Tours – 2002 was C3’s fault, pure and simple. 2006 was just plain too much money for where I am at financially these days. The fact that Ringo really wanted to go the 2006 tour makes this one a bitter pill to swallow.

Simon and Garfunkel early 2000s Tour – Ticket prices beyond what I could afford or reasonably ask my mother for as a gift. Just a concert way out of my price range.

It is easier to miss a show when I’ve seen a band before, especially if it is more than once. It would have been cool to see Queensryche this fall, but I’ve seen them several times and watched them do Mindcrime before, so it was a bit easier to take. And, I’ve seen the original Guns ‘n Roses (they aren’t really GnR anyway, they are really just Axl Rose solo and well, who cares about Axl Rose and the Hired Guns?) and Alice in Chains so the reunion shows have not bugged me that much.

I also remember wishing my folks would take me to see Johnny Cash as a kid. I regret never seeing the Man in Black in person. Eventually, other performers I wanted to see like Judas Priest I eventually got to see. Ozzfest has provided me with the opportunity to see so many new and used acts over the past few years that I am hoping this won’t happen as much in the future.

Of course, I really would like to go see Stone Sour later this month, but likely can’t.

So be it.