The Girlie Show: What was your first concert?

Besides sometimes blogging about pop music, my friends, I am also a theatre writer and maker. My latest play, "The Girlie Show", opens in Melbourne tonight. The play is set in 1993 and is about 5 youngins who meet in line while waiting for tickets to Madonna's "The Girlie Show" tour. While lining up they talk about their first concerts, and well that got me thinking, what a great idea for a blog.

Alright, forgive me while I try and sell this show, here's the blurb and ticket link:

It’s 1993 and Madonna is visiting Australia for the first time. For fans Jason, Mary, Sam, Natalie and Derek this is what they’ve been waiting for. While in line for tickets the five become inseparable, sharing friendship, love and an obsession for the Queen of pop.

Sam may only be 16, but he’s out to his Dad and looking for love in the all wrong places. Natalie is a pop singer who’s close to a record deal, if she can only keep her sexuality a secret. Mary is a good Catholic girl whose parents have no idea she’s been idolising the wrong Madonna. And Jason is just trying to deny his feelings for Derek.

Loaded with the fashions and music of the 90s, “The Girlie Show” is about coming out, rebelling and finding acceptance - a true pop culture playground!

January 20 – 31, Shows Wed – Sun, all shows at 8.30pm, except Sundays at 6.30pm

Tickets: http://lamama.com.au/2016-summer/girlie-show
La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton, VIC, Australia

Thanks, now I can continue with the blog!! So what was your first concert? Tell us in the comments section below.

Wayne Tunks - Bros

Now it would be lovely to say that mine was Madonna. Or something cool like Prince or Kylie, who were concerts 3 and 4 for me. But no, my first concert back in 1988 was Bros. That's right, the peroxide loving twins Matt and Luke Goss and their friend, Craig. So I know it was completely uncool, even back then for someone who went to a Western Sydney High School, but I don't care, I loved every minute. We had dreadful seats, truly dreadful, right up the back, but it didn't matter. Myself and the ladies who went loved it, of course none of our male friends wanted to go.

Excited we got driven in by my friend, Catherine's Mum, and we had McDonalds for dinner at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, apparently it was a tradition I was happy to partake in. One girl, the drama Queen in the group, had a fillet-o-fish and claimed to have food poisoning, so sat for the whole show. The rest of us didn't, we jumped, screamed and sang along to every song. I remember loving the hits, "I Owe You Nothing" was great and hearing the album tracks was awesome as well. I remember getting the feels hearing, "Cat Amongst the Pigeons" and they also sang an early version of first single from their second album, "Too Much".

It was a great show, big, loud and bold. It made me a lifetime fan of concerts - just wish I could afford to see more!

And now for some of the cast and crew:

Oliver Bailey (Jason Lancaster) - The Cat Empire

 My first ever concert experience was seeing The Cat Empire with my sister. Not really knowing what to expect I refused to let her out of my sight the whole time. My whole family are fans of the The Cat Empire now, so now I have to keep an eye on not only my two sisters, but also my parents at their gigs.

Charlotte Fox (Natalie Sturt) - Katie Noonan / George

I was 14 and had seen Katie Noonan performing with Paul Grabowsky at Bennett's Lane with my Mum and thought her voice was magic. Doing a lot of singing when I was younger I aspired to be a musician like her. I found out she was in a band called George and bought their album which I listened to religiously. Their lyrics were at once symbiotic and changed how I looked at the world. I heard they were doing a show at the forum but it was 18+. I'd raved about the band so much that about 10 of my friends wanted to come. We found out at the last minute that it wasn't allowed for just my mum and dad to come but each minor had to be accompanied by a guardian. So at the last minute my parents got together their friends and family friends and organised the tickets so everyone could go - just so I could go to my first gig to see musicians I idolised. It was the first time I had been to the forum was I thought was magical in every way, the music was magic, and the way my family and friends all got together because of one girl who wanted to see a band was magic.

Louis Hanson (Adam / Quintin / Doctor) - Hi-5

I’m rather content with my first ever concert… it was a long time ago, but it will always be a memorable one to me. I was 6, and I went to see Hi-5’s concert alongside my parents and my best friend. Hi-5 was my entire life; I remember being so amazed that the original cast (Tim, Nathan, Kellie, Kathleen and my favourite Charli) were all in front of my eyes. All of their songs, especially L.O.V.E, Move your Body, and Hi-5 theme song, were massive jams at the time, and their fashion was always so on point. I was in heaven. We were quite high up from the stage, but everyone was dancing in the aisles, even the parents! It was a long day and, as you can imagine, I was extremely tired by the end of it! But it was all worth it to boogie along with my mates from Hi-5.

Adam Haylock (Sam Alexander) - Linkin Park

My first concert was going to see Linkin Park with my brother for his birthday in 2007, I was 12. Whilst I knew next to none of their songs, I happily plodded along, excited/nervous about my first concert experience. I remember the booming music, the easily excitable audience, the mum who had taken her teen sons along - only to read through the whole concert. But most of all I remember the connection and energy of having devoted music lovers in a single space listening to songs they’ve all sung in the shower or screamed in the car. It was electric. Music is the only sort of thing that can bring people together like that. And for that reason, it’ll be a night I’ll always remember. 

Josh Karlik (Director) - Ed Sheeran

The first concert I went to was Ed Sheeran last year (the earlier tour, not the remount). It was great to be there, and watch an artist do his thing without any gimmicks (it was just him, some instruments, and a loop pedal) and he was very talented, but was uncomfortable being in an audience with a sea of teenage girls (of which are very pushy and loud). I felt like a grumpy old man, but it was still a lot of fun watching a talented artist perform!

Caitlin Spears (Mary McCracken) - P!NK

My First Concert was Pink! Truth about Love Tour. I surprised my little sister for her 18^th Birthday, I gave her a box with nothing but pink paper inside (I had previously threatened she was getting nothing for her birthday). She rolled her eyes at me and said haha she knew I was going to do that, and then I pulled out the tickets from behind my back, she flipped, kept shouting ‘Are YOU SERIOUS?!’ “OHMYGOD!’ ‘SERIOUSLY??!’. Pink was amazing, her aerial acrobatics, flying across the audience, choreography, I was spell bound by her performance. I couldn’t get over how well she could sing while suspended upside down by her feet. It was a gift for the both of us and I am so glad after listening to her since we were little, belting out her tunes in the car, that we got to share that moment together.

Thanks for reading, come see the show and tell us your first concert in the comments section below!