Waiting in Line for my First Rock Concert: Journey The Escape Tour
Journey Escape Album
No one waits in an actual line to buy concert tickets anymore, yet that was part of the whole concert experience. The internet has taken the quest, the anticipation, the excitement of physical "tickets" away from generations of young music fans.
The date was October 8, 1981, the place the Hartford Civic Center, the classic rock band was Journey, and they were in their prime. Journey was my first concert experience, I had the Journey Escape Album, went to the concert and bought the concert t-shirt. It was an experience I will never forget.
We left right after school to the Ticketmaster location to be first in line for the Journey Escape tour the next morning. But we were not the first in line and had a long journey ahead of us.
Skipping School for Tickets
Tickets went on sale at 8:00 am the next morning, in order to obtain these highly coveted seats kids either had to miss (skip) school, or convince their parents to stand in line for them. My Mom wasn't that cool. Teachers had been hearing rumors for over a week about plans and anticipated empty classrooms.
An actual announcement was made over the intercom that absences the next day would NOT be excused without a Doctors note from your parents.
My Mom actually let me skip school and gave me a Doctors note as an excuse. You could of pushed me over with a feather. My teachers were not suspicious because I was an honor roll student, never caused any trouble so I actually got away with it.
Waiting in a Concert Line
When we arrived at the small ticket location my friend and I were disappointed we weren't the first people there. There were already over 100 diehard Journey fans in front of us. Even so, we figured we would get good seats. Little did we know.
We stood, sat and huddled in a sleeping bags, all night. We played cards to pass the time, we brought our cassette player and blasted Journey music until the batteries died and it made Steve Perry sound strange. We made deals with others on trading trips to the bathroom.
Gradually I saw other kids from my high school show up, they stared at me in disbelief as if they couldn't believe the wallflower, the nerd, the "square" was skipping school and in line ahead of them. I felt like I was part of the cool crowd and stood a little taller.
Eight o'clock, everyone is pumped, first concert, sold out in less than 30 minutes, our line hadn't moved!. (We weren't the only ticket location in Connecticut) 2nd concert sold out and hour later, still don't have my ticket.
Some people left the line, only two concerts had been announced. People started leaving, but we had heard rumors down the line that a third concert might be possible.
Waiting, waiting, 3rd concert announced. Wahoo!!! It paid off, we didn't get the "best" seats but they weren't the worse either.
Journey was my first rock concert and I will always remember the experience and the music. I had the album and the concert T-shirt.
Songs from the Journey Escape Album
- Don't Stop Believing (single)
- Stone in Love (single)
- Whos Crying Now (single)
- Keep on Runnin'
- Still They Ride (single)
- Escape
- Lay It Down
- Dead or Alive
- Mother Father
- Open Arms (single)
Album Facts: Released July 31, 1981, nine time platinum record, 12 million copies sold worldwide, only Journeys Greatest Hits album has sold more copies. Classic Rock name the Journey Escape album as the 22nd Greatest rock album of all time in 2001.
Classic, Legendary Arena Concerts
Classic rock concerts from the 1980s had screaming fans and cigarette lighters held up during ballads. Even if you didn't smoke you brought a lighter to be part of the concert experience.
Today concerts have cell phones held up, it's not the same. People try to video the concert on their phones, take selfies, tweet "I'm at the Justin Bieber concert!" and don't really experience the music and the feel of the concert. Maybe it's just a difference experience, what do you think. Tell me below
The year was 1981 and Journey fever consumed the United States, they were the hottest band at the time.
Do You Remember Waiting In Line for Concerts?
What Was the First Concert You Ever Attended?
Share your first concert memories here, how long did you wait in line? Was there a special memory associated with waiting in line?