Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Jim Rose Circus Sideshow at Madison Square Garden, NYC (12/9/1994)

We got in line at the local Foodtown's TicketMaster booth super early the day tickets went on sale. There may have been wrist bands involved, and that might explain why we almost didn't get tickets (as I'm sure we forgot to check if wrist bands were given out in advance). The show sold out quickly but not before the dozen or so groups of people in front of us got their tickets and left the line happy. When we got up to the booth, the agent told us there were no tickets left. After standing around dumbstruck for a minute or so, she said she had some seats after all. Sara and I got seats together, and Mikki got a few tickets (one which was earmarked for her dad). Poor Mikki loved Mr. Manson so much that she was willing to go with her dad if that was the only way she could see the show. The night of the show, we found Mikki and her dad to say hello, but left soon after realizing things were tense between them after her dad experienced the Jim Rose Circus for the first and, I bet, last time.

Helmet, Quicksand, Orange 9mm at Livingston College Gym, Piscataway, NJ (11/10/1994)

All the hippie shows aside, I was devoted to Quicksand. I guess this is when Manic Compression came out. We missed Orange 9mm (who I would see open for Ned's Atomic Dustbin the following year(!)) and had to leave during Helmet's set because Sara had a curfew. There is nothing especially memorable about this show besides this being the first time I saw Quicksand play. (Walter just recently played a show at a bar in my neighborhood. I went to see Quasi and Marnie Stern instead. Please note: I missed Marnie Stern because I showed up late. In my defense, she went on way too early.)

They Might Be Giants, Frank Blank at the Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ (10/17/1994)

When I was in 6th grade, I liked the New Kids on the Block like all tween girls did. When I was on a family vacation in Texas the summer before 6th grade, I played my NKOTB cassette tape so many times that it broke in the San Antonio SeaWorld parking lot.

During the summer before 7th grade, I found (the) Pixies. My world changed completely.

In 1992 or 1993 (whenever the Pixies opened for U2), I was offered tickets to go. My parents said no. (I didn't see the Pixies until they reunited in 2004.)

So, if I couldn't see the Pixies, I was dead set on seeing Frank Black open for They Might Be Giants. Frank Black played an acoustic set and ripped through the best of Teenager of the Year. A couple of dumbpants in front of us kept on screaming "Debaser," but I'm pretty sure Frank Black couldn't hear them. And, if he could hear them, he sure as hell wasn't going to play any Pixies songs at that time. (When I saw Frank Black at Southpaw more than a decade later, he had no qualms about pandering to the crowd and playing three or four Pixies songs.)

Frank Black sat all alone, on a wooden stool, on the Count Basie Theater stage. The same stage that I had my ballet recitals on. He seemed pissed and played quickly.

A few songs into the They Might Be Giants set, Sara, Jamie (a co-worker from Bob's Stores), and I decided to leave. We sat in the Count Basie parking lot while someone (not me!) smoked a cigarette. While we were chatting, we saw a white Ford Taurus rental driving toward us. It was driven by Mr. Frank Black. We waved and he beeped at us and I died a thousand times.

(p.s.--A few weeks after the show, a dude came into Bob's asking if we sold batteries. He was wearing a Frank Black t-shirt. After I told him that we didn't sell batteries, I mentioned the dumpants in front of me screaming "Debaser" throughout Frank Black's set at the Count Basie. His eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "THAT WAS ME!")

Hippie Summer/Fall at various locations in NY, NJ, PA (1994)

One of you believes that I should keep my hippie past in the closet, but I don't want to keep secrets from you. There was a time during high school that I had a crush on a hippie. He liked The Dead and he wore tie-dyed t-shirts to school. He drove a Volvo station wagon and he was the president of our student earth group. (I was the VP until I became the president because my crush was too high to attend the meetings.)

These shows are a bit of a blur, but here goes:

1. Phish at the Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ (7/2/1994): I do not remember this show at all. I already had my driver's license and I bet Sara (my great friend who is now a DVM in England and was the reason I got a ticket for going 89 in a 55 zone when I was 18) went with me.

2. H.O.R.D.E. Festival at Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, PA (8/24/1994): My parents would not let me drive to Philly so Sara (see above) convinced her friend Olivia to take us. Olivia was 25 (I was 17, Sara was 16). Olivia seemed sooooo old to me. I didn't understand why she wanted to hang around us kids, but I was glad she drove us. She had this super old car that could only go about 45 on the highway. It was a slow but awesome ride. I think I drank some hooch out of an Igloo container that some old dude passed us. Olivia was cool and watched out for us, though.

3. H.O.R.D.E. Festival at Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ (9/6/1994): I remember nothing about this show. Please be aware that my favorite band was still (the) Pixies at this time.

4. God Street Wine at Irving Plaza, NYC (10/8/1994): So, the kid I had a crush on and his BFF drove the three us into the city that night. We were dumb suburban kids, so of course we drove down a one way street the wrong way. Why do parents allow 17 year olds to leave home? And then drive to the city? And wear tie dye?

Fork Hippies.

Tears for Fears, Jellyfish at the State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ (10/4/1993)

I went for the opener, Jellyfish. We had seats toward the front of the balcony, but the band still seemed so far away. Jellyfish really was a good band, but I think people were confused by their dumb clothes and dumber hats.

H.O.R.D.E. at Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ (8/5/1993)

I think this might have been the first summer of the H.O.R.D.E. tour (or was it a "festival"?). I don't know what H.O.R.D.E. stands for, so don't ask. If I remember correctly, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Widespread Panic, God Street Wine, The Samples and some other hippie bands played. Oh shiitake, this is the show that I saw Dave Matthews play! His band was one of the first acts of the day, I kid you not! (I never had dreads, nor owned a hacky sack, fyi.)

Spin Doctors, Soul Asylum, Screaming Trees at Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ (7/10/1993)

I very much liked the Screaming Trees at this time. Soul Asylum, too. The Spin Doctors were already on my "not cool" list, but one of my friends who would within a matter of just a few months dedicate her soul to the darkness of Goth culture, loved the Spin Doctors. Other than that, there was nothing very memorable about this show. Our parents were very nice people for dropping us off and picking us up from these shows. Traffic on the parkway before and after concerts at the Arts Center was not fun.

The The at the Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, NJ (6/23/1993)

I spent my days religiously listening to FM106.3 (Modern Rock at the Jersey Shore) and The The was getting a good amount of airplay on the station. The scheduled opening band was The Cranberries, who were getting super popular at the time. Alas, Dolores O'Riordan got sick and they canceled. The promoters didn't find another opener. I don't remember much about this show, which leads me to believe that The The was fairly boring to watch.

Beastie Boys, Rollins Band, DaLenchMob at Livingston College Gym, Piscataway, NJ (11/8/1992)

November 8, 1992, marks one of my brother's finest moments. My brother was just a few weeks into his first year at Rutgers College when he told me that the Rollins Band (one of my favorite bands at the time) would soon be playing his school. A few weeks before the show, he told me that tickets had sold out before he could get some. I was sad, but soon bounced back.

He invited me to an art opening on the night of November 8 (coincidentally the same night as the show) and, much to my surprise, my mom let me go to New Brunswick on a school night. Before I left the house, my mom asked what I was wearing. After I told her, she suggested that I wear my Rollins Band t-shirt. (Why I still didn't think I would be going to the show at this point is really pathetic, right?)

After I arrived in New Brunswick, I believe we went to eat at Wendy's and then my brother handed me some tickets. I flipped them over and learned that my brother tricked me and I would be seeing Henry Rollins and his way too short shorts after all.

My brother made me stay on the bleachers throughout the show. But, I think I would have been nervous on the floor anyway. (I had to keep my baja on -- yes, a baja! -- because I changed into that damn Rollins t-shirt before I left the house.)

The next day in school people were pretty jealous that I saw the Beastie Boys. But, for me, the night was all about the Rollins Band and my brother winning the Lifetime Best Sibling Award before he turned 20 years old.

My First Show (Sorta): B-52s, Violent Femmes at Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ (9/11/1992)

This was the first show of my choosing. When I was a baby, my mom took me and my older brother to go see Raffi at some theater near Oakville, Ontario. So, a Raffi show is technically my first concert. When I was about 14, my parents took my brother, grandmother and me to see Ray Charles at the State Theater in New Brunswick, NJ. That's a pretty great show to claim as a first if I ever got the itch to do so. Alas, the Violent Femmes and B-52s were the first bands I consciously purchased a ticket to see. (As for how I got the money to make said purchase, I don't remember.)

I believe I went with three other girls. (Two I can remember by name. The third I can't even remember by face.)