I don’t remember much about TJAMC except “Just Like Honey”. The smoke machine was working overtime. NIN was awesome; I totally fell for the anemic Trent Reznor, as much as I would hate to admit it. Pretty Hate Machine had been huge; people were all into it. Of course, I tried to be blasé about the whole phenomenon – I didn’t become a “real” fan until Broken. So, this show was basically a scenester show for me. lol

The Cramps with some local band – May 22, 1990 – Nashville Center Stage

The Cramps were fantastic…I remember “tear this damn place up” the most vividly because Lux Interior had stripped down to his thong at that point. He was humping the monitor, the whole nine yards. Lux’s skin was very gray, and I remember thinking I was glad I never did heroin.

firehose with Clockhammer – June 1990 – Lake Cheston – Sewanee, TN

This is one of my favorite concert memories. We drove up in a big caravan to one of my favorite places in the universe – Sewanee, TN. The bands played under a picnic shelter. A thunderstorm brewed during Clockhammer’s set…one of the most memorable shows I’ve ever seen. I wonder if anyone recorded it – it should have been documented. I do remember thinking Clockhammer was the best band I’d ever seen. As the night progressed, I ended up stealing Clockhammer’s beer with Mike Fucking Watt! I thought he was one of Mark B’s friends – an ordinary Joe – because he was such a cool guy. This show also marked the beginning of my relationship with Frank Booth. Even though Mason was there, Frank and I were all over each other and it only got more intense as the summer went on. I can’t remember if we stayed up at Sewanee or went back to the Boro that night – it was a good thing I wasn’t driving.

Peter Murphy with House of Love – July 21, 1990 – 328 Performance Hall, Nashville

At this point, I had not seen any Bauhaus members live, so I was very excited about this show. I guess I was buying beer with a fake ID because I remember being really drunk sick during House of Love’s set. This was my first show to see at 328, my most favorite ever concert venue here. I remember FUCT were playing that night too at some club opening up in Melrose…that’s where all the boys were, which allowed me to give all my attention to Peter Murphy, who was fantastic. Even though I did and still do like his solo stuff, I wanted to hear Bauhaus songs – I knew he most likely wouldn’t do any of those, so I wasn’t too disappointed when he didn’t do any. He didn’t really need to, though, because his performance was so fantastic he could have sung “Mary Had a Little Lamb” the whole time and still wowed me.

Harry Connick Jr. – Sept 21, 1990 – Jackson Hall, TPAC, Nashville

All I really remember from this is Lyle Lovitt sat in front of us.

Skinny Puppy with Babes in Toyland, Mississippi Nights, St. Louis

Ogre on stilts and animal cruelty videos playing on TV screens all over the stage, it was different, for sure. I went on a road trip with Ben and a bunch of other people – Ben and I had just gotten together, so the entire weekend in St. Louis/University City was magical. We missed Babes in Toyland, unfortunately because we ran out of gas on our way there from Murfreesboro. I really liked St. Louis.

This was the first touring band I saw at The Cannery. I had gone to see a local band, Raging Fire there the summer before & that is a whole other story than what I am telling here – there was a great local band scene at that time in Nashville, and I wish I had ticket stubs from all the club shows I saw of so many great local bands over the years. Why didn’t I keep a diary of those shows? Anyway, I loved The Cannery – it will probably always be my favorite place to see a band ever in Nashville. Midnight Oil played there a week before, and I went up with Forrest to see them, but it was sold out when we got there (I did the same thing for Guns-n-Roses that summer at Starwood). I was just so excited to be out in Nashville at this time in my life – I was about to be free from my parents & I was ready.

I don’t remember much about The Smithereens. I don’t even remember who I went with.

INXS with Ziggy Marley – Aug 31, 1988 – Starwood Amphitheater, Nashville

I went to this show with some girlfriends – we had really shitty seats, but my friend Greg had close seats & traded tickets with me, so I ended up in the very front! Michael Hutchence was fantastic, I screamed like the 17-yr old I was. My friend Gwen & I stalked them at their hotel & talked to several of the guys but not Michael Hutchence, unfortunately. If only….he’d still be alive & I’d be the wife of a hot rock god…sigh.

The Church with Tom Verlaine – Sept 29, 1988 – The Cannery, Nashville

When I realize today that I saw Tom Verlaine, I could slap myself for not remembering anything about seeing him. I can’t even recall if I actually watched his set. I do remember The Church being really good. The other thing that sticks out in my mind is meeting up with some guys I knew from Tullahoma, and they were drinking Jack Daniels and being totally annoying. One of them kept yelling the Church’s guitarist’s name over & over at the guy. Summer was over – I was a freshman in college at the time and went to the show with my new friend Stacey.

Iggy Pop with Jane’s Addiction – Oct 15, 1988 – The Cannery, Nashville

Jane’s Addiction had just released Nothing’s Shocking, and they were phenomenal. I had never seen anything like them before, and I can honestly say now 20 years later that I haven’t seen anything like them since. Dave Navarro had long curly hair & he just ROCKED. Perry Farrell was fascinatingly strange. They were amazing, mind-blowing. For their last song, they all came to the front of the stage & did “Trip Away”, all of them banging on this metal thing. It is one of my favorite performances ever.

Iggy Pop was good too, just not as. After seeing Jane’s Addiction, I was overloaded. I went to this show with Stacey, and we were hanging out before the show talking to our friend Cat, and we were approached by a freaky-looking, really tall & skinny guy with bright red dreadlocks who said “Hey ladies…where’s the party at tonight?” We were at a loss for words and just kinda blew the guy off. Later, Jane’s Addiction comes out…that freaky guy was Perry Farrell! hahaha

The Ramones with The Manikenz – Jan 19, 1989 – Nashville Center Stage

Nashville Center Stage was a huge venue on the east side of the river. It became a huge gay nightclub, The Connection, for most of the 90′s, and I have no idea what it is, if anything, now. I went to this show with Mason, and we stood up in the balcony the whole time. I don’t remember much except for the “Gabba Gabba Hey” dancer.

Jane’s Addiction with Clockhammer – Feb 12, 1989 – The Cannery, Nashville

Clockhammer was the best local band, ever. It is a true shame they imploded when they got a record deal. My friend Stacey was obsessed with the bassist, seriously obsessed. I spent many hours hanging out in clubs around Nashville stalking this dude to the point where he thought I was stalking him….good times. Jane’s Addiction was not as fantastic as they were in October, but it was still a great show. However, all I really remember is that I was sick with the flu. Not a great way to enjoy a show.

REM with the Indigo Girls – Mar 31, 1989 – MTSU Murphy Center, Murfreesboro, TN

It is simply wonderful to be able to walk to a concert. I went with Mason, and we had 3^rd row center seats!!! The Indigo Girls were horrible; I have never been a fan. REM, however, were superawesome. I remember being SO happy because Michael Stipe waved at me. Our seats were mixed in with a bunch of SAE frat boys, who all wanted hits of Mason’s one-hitter. Ben was at this concert too, although I never saw him. He was just a few rows back.

It was the Green tour, and I love all REM up to just about that album, so it was a very exquisite show for me. I was close enough for Peter Buck for him to hear me yell “Gardening at Night! Gardening at Night!” He looked at me & mouthed “Sorry”. Oh well, I tried.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – April 1989 – Rites of Spring, Vanderbilt Alumni Lawn, Nashville

This was a fun show. I went with Mason, Stacey & Chris Clark – who ended up getting on stage & taking pics of RHCP…I would love to see those pictures now. I loved RHCP then – it was just before Mother’s Milk came out, so they mostly played stuff off my favorite (still) Uplift Mofo Party Plan. I remember Anthony Keidis talking about a 13-yr old girl giving him a blow job and being disgusted. There was a wild party we went to after the show – all I remember is going to it.

Metallica with The Cult – Aug 16, 1989 – Starwood Amphitheater, Nashville

This was a very crazy night. It started off badly, but it could have been much worse. Mason & I went with a friend of his from work – the friend drove, and we got pulled over in Smyrna for speeding. We were all tripping on acid! What idiots we were! Anyway, the cop had no idea, so we made it to the show. We met Stacey & our friend Leticia there – they were both horrified. None of the 3 of us had ever gone to a heavy metal show, so the crowd was a bit different from the alternative shows we saw. We sat out in the grass, not too far from the main walkway. While The Cult played, I saw some friends of mine from high school, and I was so out of it that it didn’t go very well. Stacey threw beer at one of them – I don’t remember much else.

Metallica were fantastic! It was the And Justice for All… tour, so I liked everything they played. There were cool mosh pits to watch out on the lawn. I loved it until shit started blowing up. I had never seen a heavy metal concert, and I was on acid – I seriously thought something had gone wrong, LOL!

The Cure with Shellyann Orphan – Sept 19, 1989 – Lakewood Amphitheater, Atlanta

My first Atlanta concert! I love Atlanta; I have always wanted to live there, but all the neighborhoods I want to live in there are way out of our price range. I went down with Mason, Stacey & Mark Beasley – we thought The Pixies and Love & Rockets were opening. I do love The Cure, but I was really into Love & Rockets, so I was very excited. When we got to the show, we found out neither band were going to be there. We had never heard of Shellyann Orphan & I, for one, have never heard of her/it since. They were awful – lots of shrieking.

The Cure were good, although I hated watching them from the grass. As far as I can remember, a good time was had by all, despite not seeing The Pixies or L&R.

Maybe I didn’t get to see Duran Duran on the Seven & the Ragged Tiger tour, but I was going to see the only Duran Duran guy who mattered…John Taylor! I was 14, it was the summer after my 9^th grade year, I had just gotten back from Europe, and wow, did I think I was cool.

My mom drove me and a couple of my BFFs up to Nashville. It was the days of the General Admission Municipal concerts & we got there at like 1:00 in the afternoon to get in line to get in. I remember feeling the most excited I had ever been – I was convinced that John Taylor was going to see me & whisk me away with him. After the longest 7 or 8 hours I have ever spent, I was finally directly in front of the most beautiful man in the world – I even got pictures! Unfortunately one of my friends passed out (from the sweaty heat, not the hotness of JT) & we had to go to the concession stand with her. I watched the rest of the show from the back & saw so many guys dressed up like John Taylor that I ended up not minding being back there at all.

Simple Minds with The Call – April 3, 1986 – Vanderbilt Memorial Gym, Nashville

It was the height of The Breakfast Club mania & all you heard was “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”. Of course I LOVED it, and once again my mom drove me & my friends to the show. I also liked “Everywhere I Go” by The Call, although all I remember about their set was how big the lead singer’s balls looked. I don’t remember much about Simple Minds either. I do recall feeling relief that there were a lot of other weirdos out there like me because there sure weren’t in my boring hometown.

INXS with the Del Fuegos – August 13, 1986 – Jackson Hall, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville

This remains to be one of my all-time favorites.

My best friend & I drove up the day the tickets went on sale & got 8^th row seats – we were ecstatic, but we ended up with a blowout on I-24. Some guys came & put the spare on (my mom was fond of saying “They could have kidnapped & killed you” for months afterwards). Unbelievably, my parents let me go to the concert with her without any chaperones. We had no idea where to park – these were not the glory days of downtown Nashville. It was scary for 4 clueless teenaged small town girls, especially when an old man in a car starts driving beside y’all really slowly asking if y’all need a ride. I think we flat out ran down Deaderick Street to TPAC.

It was the Listen Like Thieves tour…Michael Hutchence was PERFECT. My favorite songs were all played. We were in such a heightened state afterwards that we ended up getting in a BMW with some strange rich boys from Brentwood & riding around with them because they had wine coolers! I’m sure those guys thought they had it made the way we sucked down those coolers, but as we’re riding down Union St, we see Michael Hutchence walking out to the bus!! We screamed like banshees, jumped out of the car, ran in front of cars to cross the street to him & he blew us kisses & said he loved us! Swoon! We hung around & saw all of the band come out. Total heaven.

I still can’t believe we got in that car with those guys. Footloose and fancy-free were we.

a-ha with In Pursuit – Sept 18, 1986 – Jackson Hall, Nashville

My mom actually went to this concert with me and my friends. We had 3^rd row seats & had the most fun flirting with the a-ha (remember “Take On Me”?) singer. He really enjoyed my mom! I have the pictures that prove it. That’s about all I remember about that show, except it was on the night before Fair Day so we all wore our a-ha t-shirts to the fair. I miss Fair Days.

Duran Duran with Erasure – July 18, 1987 – Starwood Amphitheater, Nashville

I went to this show with some friends, but I can’t remember who they were. Our seats were in the back under the pavilion – it was my first time at Starwood, a place I would come to know very well. Unfortunately Starwood is now closed – it was sold to some real estate company who will build houses on the land. Boo! Anyway, all I recall from Erasure’s set was the guy’s balls were hanging out of his leotard outfit for most of the show (I must have been obsessed with balls back then). Duran Duran were disappointing, just because it was only John Taylor, Simon LeBon & Nick Rhodes. I would have loved to have seen the original lineup back then. I have had a few chances to catch them here when they all 5 got back together recently, but my heart just wasn’t in it anymore.

Billy Idol with The Cult – July 22, 1987 – Starwood Amphitheater, Nashville

This was my first “real” concert experience. By this time, I had 2 distinct groups of friends: the goody-goodies & the druggies. Guess who I went to this concert with? What I remember from this show…Ian Astbury, The Cult lead singer, mooned us because no one was into them, I almost died of embarrassment because my ex-boyfriend Thomas was trying to hang all over me in front of this local band, Walk the West – I had a huge crush on the drummer. They were sitting behind me & I just knew Thomas made it even more obvious to them that I was in high school with his immature antics. I got a cigarette butt from Steve Stevens, Billy Idol’s guitarist. The most exciting thing happened after the show. We heard on the radio that The Cult were going to be at Cat’s Record Store at Hickory Hollow to sign autographs, so we went & got to touch actual rock stars! We got to sign a petition to bring U2 to Nashville while we were there. I stole one of the signs over the petition & displayed it proudly in my locker during my senior year.

U2 with the Dbs – November 28, 1987 – MTSU Murphy Center, Murfreesboro

I went to this with my boyfriend at the time. That night several parents of my friends were out-of-town, so we were planning on staying at one of their houses. We ended up doing acid & having a good trip at the show. Our seats were with my best friend in high school – we both loved loved loved U2. I can remember screaming/singing along to “Gloria” and every other song. After the show, we went to a party somewhere, I don’t remember much except we ended up going to my friend’s to crash & when we got there, her sister told us her parents had unexpectedly come back, so that was out. We drove out to the damn boondocks to another one of my parentless friends’ house. I remember watching some of “The Princess Bride” and then going back to bed with my boyfriend. I started getting paranoid that her parents were going to come home like my other friend’s did. So we left. We ended up sleeping in his car at the rest pull-off on I-24 right past Manchester! The scary thing was I found out later that that exit was a popular coke deal place, as well as an anonymous gay men fuck fest location. We were lucky we didn’t get murdered or something.

Depeche Mode with OMD – May 24, 1988 – Starwood Amphitheater, Nashville

My last concert of my high school years! I couldn’t believe my parents were letting me go to a concert on a school night!! I missed seeing Sting, Tears for Fears & who knows who else because of that stupid rule. I had been a hardcore Depeche Mode fan for 3 years, since I bought one of their tapes in Germany. I went with my best guy friend & his girlfriend. I got random strange old guys to buy me beer & had a blast. Both bands were great. I can still remember some parts of that concert – it was a good one. The crowd was fantastic – a bunch of freaks in black swaying to Depeche Mode just like me!