I've been to a lot of concerts over the last half century, but there are only a couple of concerts where I still have my original concert ticket stub.

The first is for Jethro Tull during their Broadsword and the Beast tour. This was my first big arena concert, and Ian and the boys certainly delivered. The opening act was a group called Saga that went on to become a one-hit wonder. The theatrics and the light show were dazzling and beyond anything I had seen before. 

The next concert stub I still own is more for personal reasons than the musical act. It was the first real date I took the girl I was in love with on, and she ended up marrying me. The group was the Thompson Twins. It really was a great show, quite lively and a lot of fun with plenty of crowd participation, but I was more distracted by how beautiful my date looked in her striped suit with a matching hat.

Number three was a concert that I won concert tickets to attend from a radio station in California, including transportation up and back to Los Angeles, to see Pink Floyd on their A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. My wife was in New York at the time, so she missed it. The concert was astounding, the best show I had been to up until my last concert. They had the most spectacular light show and a flying bed that crashed into the stadium, plus a giant inflatable pig. They sounded great, and I ended up buying the DVD of the concert when I found it for sale.

Lastly, I had been a fan of Rush since the late 1970's. I had several opportunities to see them in concert but something always came up to prevent me from going, including having my car gas tank filled with diesel fuel instead of gasoline. I always regretted missing out on the concerts until some friends of mine, Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, told me they had six VIP tickets for sixth row center, and would I like to finally see them in concert? After popping my eyeballs back into my sockets, I said yes, and that's how I got to go to their Clockwork Angels tour. This show blew the others away, but then again there was a lot of time between Rush and Pink Floyd, with several small venue concerts in between. Best show ever, and I did finally get to attend a Rush concert before they retired on the next tour. Kevin and Rebecca did make a dream come true.

Iron Noder 2017

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