Wrote this list somewhere around my junior or senior year of high school. It’s all the bands I had seen up until that point. At least the ones I could remember…
There are likely dozens more, because following my first concert being Courtney Love and Hole when I was 12 I went on a concert spree.
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- Korn
- Deftones
- Orange 9mm
- 311
- Downset
- Primus
- Gwen Mars
- Mike Watt
- Voice of the Beehive
- God Lives Underwater
- Beck
- Vandals
- Descendents
- X-members
- Voodoo Glow Skulls
- Pharcyde
- Powerman 5000
- Face to Face
- Moonpools and Caterpillars
- Goldfinger
- Cake
- Rage Against the machine
- Stanford Prison Experiment
- Girls Against Boys
- KMFDM
- Honest Engine
- Sister Machine Gun
- Fugazi
- Offspring
- Pearl Jam
I know there are more because I had seen and have a signed shirt from Blink-182 and tons more in my garage.
My oldest goes to see Offspring in a few days. Crazy that I had seen them literally at the same age he is going to see them.
Some of my favorite shows were Pearl Jam in Park City, Deftones at DV8, Hole at Saltair, and Rage Against the Machine at a rodeo arena.
Pearl Jam was cool because it got rained out. The downpour was crazy. Can’t remember how many songs in they got, but I remember everyone piling anywhere they could for shelter. I ended up in the bathroom standing on top of a toilet inside a stall with two other people, and four more on the floor of the stall. Some girls, because everyone was looking for cover anywhere. And it was such an amazing vibe us all just being humans looking out for each other, seeking shelter in any way possible.
Deftones I had seen half a dozen times, and have seen them again in my 40’s. Before they blew up I met the lead singer, Chino, just hanging out in a booth at a festival. They were one of the side acts at what ended up being one of the first Vans Warped Tours.
I met Korn a bunch of times too. The most memorable was at a small record shop in Salt Lake.
Something about that age and you have a pulse on “underground bands” that come up.
I also have a signed b-side tape from Limp Bizkit.
Hole was cool because I loved Nirvana at the time so it was surreal for teenage Damon to be in proxy to that. I caught Courtney Love’s purple lighter that she threw in the crowd. Still have it.
The wildest was probably Rage Against the Machine. They were going to plat at a large stadium and SLC canceled their permit a few days before. Rage being Rage, they booked wherever they could to prove a point. They were permitted to play at a small rodeo arena in a small town. And they tried canceling after once they found out the size of the crowd. But however they negotiated it, it was a done deal.
The stadium is much bigger now. Back then it was just on scaffolding, and nothing but a pure dirt floor. There were dust tornadoes because of the mosh pits, and people climbing the scaffolding.
Search online, “Rage Against the Machine Utah concert.” The news articles, clippings, and news videos are hilarious. The small town thought the sky was falling, and that gangsters and pure violence was destined.
Spending time with my friends at these shows…
These are some of the memories that I’m most grateful for.
