Fifteen years ago (feels like yesterday), I took my first trip to Toad's Place in New Haven, CT. Toad's is a really small club that has had just about anyone who's anyone play there over the years. I've since seen bands such as The Samples, Dave Matthews Band, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Kings of Leon, etc. It's set right in downtown New Haven, amongst Yale University and gets good crowds on a regular basis.
In 1994, I was a junior in high school and my buddy Chris passed on a cd by a new band called the Counting Crows. I'd say that I loved "August & Everything After" since the first time I sat down and played it, just a masterpiece of an album. Even today, it's still one of my favorite albums, I find myself listening to it pretty often. When we found out they were going to be playing locally, we were pretty excited.
My buddy Tom and I drove up for the show and I don't remember all that many specifics (probably because I was a bit overwhelmed) but I can recall how great the songs sounded live. One of the cool things about Toad's is that the stage is really low and there's no security barrier so it's basically like seeing a band in a bar, you can get as close as you want and we were just a few feet away. They didn't have much material at the time so the concert was relatively short, but they played almost the whole album and it was one of the first times that live music really made a big impact on me. I believe this was only my second concert ever so I didn't really know what to expect, but I left with a big smile on my face and a new t-shirt in hand.
As you can see below, the ticket has held up well over the years. As a high school student with almost no money, it was also nice to see a band for under $10. I've seen them several other times over the years but this is the show that sticks in my mind. The band and this show are definitely one of the big reasons I discovered my love for music, specifically in a live setting....and that's something that will stick with me forever.
"Pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones
Believe in me
Help me believe in anything
I want to be someone who believes"
- Adam Duritz, "Mr. Jones"
1 comment:
They are one of my favorite bands!
They get played a lot on my ipod. :)
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