Opening Act

With tickets to 15 concerts in the next six months purchased, the idea of documenting each show came to me in the middle of the night.

I think we can all remember going to our first concert. My first "real" concert was Matchbox 20 with Paul Cole opening. The show was in August of 1998 and I can still remember a couple things that happened that night. I bought a band t-shirt which I still own to this day. I remember the two guys sitting in front of us cracking jokes. One thing that stands out to me as I reminisce is that we just casually decided to go to the show. We bought tickets the week of the show at the Wherehouse Music store and just took the seats that were available.

This is very different from the planning that goes in to attending concerts now. Now, I buy my tickets as far as seven months in advance of the showdate and am at my computer at 10AM on the dot refreshing either the Ticketmaster or LiveNation show page ensuring I get the best seats possible. I've joined several fan clubs, followed concert promoters on various social media outlets, and signed up for mailing lists to get access to presale codes. Long gone are the days of camping out overnight at Tower Records so you knew you were first in line for tickets.

Ever since that first Matchbox 20 show, I have been to well over 100 concerts all over California and even a couple in Nevada. Live music is one of my favorite things to experience. Whether the show is at a football stadium holding tens of thousands screaming fans or at a small club with a handful of listeners, a great live music show will captivate your attention with either the stage presence and production of a true entertainer or the artistry the musician pours into their performance.

I have saved almost all the ticket stubs from all the concerts I have attended over the past 15 years. Sure there have been a few shows where there were no tickets issued and I've lost some along the way (most regrettably the ticket from the Matchbox 20 show) but I will always have the memories (and in the case of that first "real" concert, the band t-shirt).