Staff Pix 11/2
The Milk Crate staff discusses their first concerts in this week’s theme. Tune in Tuesdays from 1-2 EST to the Staff Pix radio show.
David Shird
Fake Happy by Paramore
All I wanted for my 16th birthday was to see Paramore. I literally begged my parents for months because once they heard the band’s music they definitely didn’t wanna send their 16-year-old star-pupil going to a rock show. However, after much begging and pleading I was allowed to go with the adult supervision of my aunt. The show was beyond any of my wildness dreams. Hayley Williams was bouncing off the walls while the band blasted the new-wavey pop songs off their fifth studio album After Laughter. The band also played classics from their discography such as “Misery Business” and “Still Into You” and you could feel the energy vibrating the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Being surrounded by so many fans young and old was the first time I felt community through music. For so long I was screaming these songs alone in my basement, but hearing all these people scream along with me right at the band was truly an experience I won’t forget. This show also hooked me on the adrenaline rush that comes with seeing live music and I’ve been hooked ever since. Paramore will always share a special place in my heart because of that.
Will Ingman
Sick Muse by Metric
One of the very few credits worth giving to the corporate behemoth known as the Austin City Limits music festival is their policy on children: if a parent has a wristband, and their child is under 10, they get into the festival for free. For my final year of eligibility, my mother and I attended ACL Festival 2012 with the express purpose of seeing her favorite band: Canadian electro-rockers Metric, at the time fresh off their latest album release Synthetica. Helmed by the ineffable Emily Haines, the one-time voice of Brie Larsen, Metric’s blend of poppy, new-wave flavor and rock sensibilities has stuck with me since that fateful show in the fall of 2012.
Karenna Umscheid
Problem by Ariana Grande
One of the most influential songs of 2014, Ariana Grande closed out her Honeymoon Tour with this number. Her transcendent vocals expressing her badass lyrics made this a powerful anthem for middle school girls everywhere. My dad, younger sister, and I danced our hearts out. She told the crowd she had a bit of a cold, but her vocals didn’t show it. Closing the concert with this upbeat jam as black and white confetti rained from the ceilings made this an unforgettable first concert experience for my middle school self.
Sarah Fournell
The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani
Picture this: it’s 2007, your hair is crimped, and you’re on your way to see Gwen Stefani at the Santa Barbara Bowl. It’s the Sweet Escape Tour, and Gwen is in hot water for being a problematic queen yet again. But you don’t know that — you’re seven and all that matters is seeing her sing Hollaback Girl live. The show opened up with Sean Kingston, who was truly at his peak with “Beautiful Girls.” I remember this night in flashes: Gwen bringing her baby on stage in his floor roller, Gwen ripping her pants while she sauntered through the stadium, and the overall elation I felt during the show. Thanks Gwen Stefani, for sparking my love affair with live music and teaching me how to spell “Bananas.”
Nia Tucker
Just One Day by BTS
My first ever concert was in 2015 to see BTS. A then relatively unknown group to American audiences. Tickets were only $50 at the time—something that was a lot to me considering my minimum wage job at Panera when I was 17, and I still got to be in standing room, directly in front of the stage. There was something really special in the air, especially since it was the band’s first stop on their first American tour, and the line outside of the then Playstation Theatre wrapped around the block. Generous ARMYs we’re handing out handmade merch, buttons, and stickers. I showed up with my own handmade t-shirt and light up poster to show off that I was a J-Hope stan. I yearn for that time. It was right off the heels of their first major number 1 song in Korea, and their excitement was palpable too. Unfortunately the concert got cut short with fears from a recent gun threat by an anonymous Twitter account, but we all felt so appreciative to share that small space with them. I never would’ve guessed they’d reach the level they did now, but I always hoped they would. This is my favorite song of theirs, their sound has changed since then but this will always bring me back.
Maura Cowan
Dancing Queen by ABBA
Anyone who knows me knows that my taste in cinema is not always film-bro-friendly. One of my lifelong favorite movies is the glitzy, campy masterpiece Mamma Mia, and at ten years old, this brought me to my very first concert– an ABBA cover band at a surprisingly large and regal venue outside of Washington, D.C.. While this may not be what some would consider a “real” concert, it was my first true taste of the live music experience, and when the music swelled during “Dancing Queen,” I knew that I belonged in a cheering crowd (or, perhaps, on a Greek island stirring up trouble in bell bottoms).
Andrew Johnson
Wild Horses by Rolling Stones
One of my first concerts was going to see the Rolling Stones at the Indianapolis Speedway. In many ways that was an interesting first concert to go to, but mainly because of the size. Never in my life had I seen so many people singing along to the same songs. The peak for me was Wild Horses because for a moment everyone stopped and all you could hear was the soft acoustic guitar and Mick Jagger singing. It was a truly beautiful moment.
Kyle Woolery
Gotta Go Hard (feat. Lil Wayne) by Nicki Minaj
No matter how controversial she may be today, Nicki Minaj will always hold a special place in my heart as the first artist I was ever truly obsessed with. Yes, I was a Barb (basically a Jehovah’s Witness but for Nicki Minaj), and it wouldn’t have made sense for my first concert to be with anyone but the Queen of Rap. I was eleven years old when my mom took me to the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to see Nicki live. I felt at home amongst the sea of pink wigs and cheetah print bodysuits that made up the crowd. These were my people. When Nicki finally emerged, standing atop a giant Barbie Dreamhouse rapping the opening bars of “Roman’s Revenge,” I absolutely lost my mind. The feeling of seeing someone you’ve idolized from afar for so long is indescribable. As expected, she performed all her greatest hits—it was 2012, so she had accumulated quite a few at this point—but the highlight of the show for me was definitely when she performed a medley of some deep cuts from her cult classic mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty (2009). “Only the real Barbz will know these ones,” she declared before going into the medley, and I, of course, knew every single word.
Lily Hartenstein
Possibly Drown by ALO
I have seen Animal Liberation Orchestra (ALO) probably as many times as years I have been alive. Raised by jam-band-loving Deadheads, I had been going to see live music since I was born, and it was only fitting that my first real concert was with a band that embodies everything I love about the “hippie” music community. I was thirteen years old and it was at the Fillmore in San Francisco, a truly iconic location in music history. As I shuffled among middle aged men with hair longer than mine into the venue, I marvelled at the posters from shows past lining the walls from floor to ceiling. I remember going to sit alongside the benches that line the right wall of the Fillmore at around 1 a.m., after several hours of joyous dancing in the crowd wore me down, to find a man who had hoarded all the space with jackets; when my dad asked him to let me sit since it was late, the man said his kid was at home and I should have been, too. “Sorry my thirteen-year-old is cooler than yours!”, my dad shouted over the music. I never got to sit, but that was one of the moments in my life I’ve been happiest. Since the Tour D’Amour is an annual event, I get to go every year since and they just keep getting better.
Sara O’Connell
Icky Thump by The White Stripes
When I was 10 my dad and I went to see The White Stripes at Agganis Arena. With my black and white striped shirt (obviously) and my newsboy cap I was the coolest kid on the planet and you couldn’t tell me anything.They were touring for their album Icky Thump which was a pivotal album experience for me. Personally for me, Jack White’s guitar playing and songwriting are at its peak in this album. The sounds he creates backed by Meg’s steady rhythm makes for the ultimate experience. This opening track is not a gentle knock, but rather a bust-down-the-doors track that I highly suggest you listen to if you want to dip your toes into The White Stripes space.
Harry Bates
“The Way” by Ariana Grande
Picture this: It’s 2013 and you begged your dad to drive an hour south to watch a free concert on the grounds of Boston City Hall. It was epic. Standing amongst thousands of people on a summer day, we watched as the 103.3 AMP Radio Birthday Bash kicked off. I never thought government plaza, with its stale plateau of red brick and brutalist architecture could be so full of life. It was a time to be alive. Thanks Dad!