Concert Ticket Stubs - Part 1 - The 1970s: Clapton, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, Cars, Doobie Brothers

Did you ever save ticket stubs from the great concerts you attended? I started saving ticket stubs as a teen - concerts, plays, ball games. Check out these musical past times (and the low prices):

Part 1 – The Concerts: The 1970’s

Early concert ticket stubs are my favorite to shuffle through. First concert: July 10, 1978, The Rolling Stones at the St. Paul Civic Center. The Stones were promoting their album “Some Girls” featuring the hits “Miss You” and “Beast of Burden”. Between my older sister, brother & myself we owned 31 Stones albums and cassettes - I was well versed & pumped. They did not disappoint. 16 years old & I was on my way.

Jamaican reggae star Peter Tosh was the Stones’ opening act. It’s not easy opening for the Rolling Stones – I remember some fools in the audience booed Tosh – I guess they weren’t ready for reggae. Tosh, previously a member of The Wailers with Bob Marley before going solo, had a hit with Mick Jagger (Don’t Look Back) around this period. Peter Tosh died in 1987 after being murdered in his home in Jamaica during a robbery.

1979 was a good year for concerts – I saw Eric Clapton at the St. Paul Civic Center, June 10, 1979. Price: $8.00. (Today, that would buy you a turkey sub & a Pepsi at Subway).

I believe Clapton was at the height of his alcohol addiction around this time, but you’d never have known it. Playing “Layla” live, he was superb. Opening act was the Mississippi blues legend, Muddy Waters who, on the Chess Records label out of Chicago in the early 1950’s, had influenced many a rock & roll artist with his deep voice on hits like “Mannish Boy”. Muddy Waters died less than four years after this concert, in 1983 at the age of 68.

In ’79 as “New Wave” music was peaking, I saw The Cars open for The Doobie Brothers at the outdoor Midway Stadium, and The Talking Heads on October 2, 1979 performing “Take Me To the River” at the Guthrie Theatre. Tickets were $11.00 and $8.50, respectively. Sitting dead center, 4^th row at the intimate Guthrie, my sister & I could practically reach out & touch David Byrne’s slicked back hair, which quickly became disheveled after his bopping around on the first number. We pooled our money to buy one Talking Heads t shirt, which we alternately wore all that year & the next until it finally gave out. Good times.

Next installment: The 1980's.