My Fourth and Fifth Concerts

I can't remember which concert I went to first, so...

The fall of my freshman year at college was a time for me to get out and discover music. Although, I mostly listened to the same stuff I had been into for the previous year.

That fall, a friend of mine and I saw Primus at the Newport. We took the bus down to campus and got our mosh on. (Someone please remind me never to write about getting anything on ever again. At least I didn't write that "we got our drink on" or some other stupid shit like that.)

The dexterity at which Les Claypool could bang out a song on the bass had me awestruck. I could better see at this show the skill with which he played as compared to the cavernous venue of the previous summer's Lollapalooza. This was probably at the height of Primus' fame.

(My cousin saw them when he was in high school and their name was Primal.)

Florida and I waited at the bus stop with some crazy preacher and a drunk, white-trash couple making out for our ride home.

The other big concert I saw that fall was Nirvana at Dayton's Hara Arena. This was the show that made me the "guy-who-goes-to-concerts". We had to sit high in the arena since we did not have floor tickets, but the usher assured us that we could probably sneak onto the floor once Nirvana went on.

After nearly falling asleep during the Meat Puppets' set, my brother, his friend Jeff, and I made our break for the floor. That was the last I saw of those two until after the show, in the snow-covered car.

This has to be one of my four or five greatest concert experiences. There were announcements over the PA for a guy named Chad to come to the stage. We figured this was a joke about the band's former drummer.

Pat Smear was particularly funny at this show. Joints were tossed at his feet. He'd pick them up, take a sniff, acknowledge the audience, and pocket the spliff.

The rest of the band was as reckless as I had dreamed they'd be, playing all the songs I wanted them to. That was the most violent mosh pit I had ever experienced and still enjoyed.

I still have the ticket from that show. It's stained from the orange parking stub that bled once I had sweat through my jeans.

I remember running through the snow to the car. I had to put on my frozen letter jacket (because I wouldn't dare wear that thing to the concert) as I tried to warm up the car. Shortly after, my brother and Jeff found their way to the car. We reminisced the whole way home, buzzing from what we had just witnessed: the raw greatness that has made Nirvana the icon it is today.