How Was My First Concert…

I’ve been a rocker since always (because of my parents) and a metalhead since I was 12 when I discovered Iron Maiden and my whole world changed. I have memories of going with my parents to see some Chilean bands when I was little (Los Jaivas, Quilapayún, Inti Illimani), but the first time I went to a concert, by myself, was at 16.

 

I live in La Serena, in the north of Chile, and almost all concerts are in Santiago, the capital. Usually, it takes a 7-hour bus drive to get there.

 

Because I was underage, I went with a classmate, Carolina, and his brother Carlos. He was going to “take care of us”. This concert was Monsters of Rock 98 (Anthrax, Helloween, Slayer).

 

Originally, it was going to be Iron Maiden instead of Anthrax, but due to political problems (Iron Maiden is an English band, and since the late Chilean dictator Pinochet was detained in England for his crimes, the Chilean authorities denied them entrance). It was a deception, but I love Anthrax too, so it wasn’t a big issue either.

 

I was super hung up on Anthrax and Helloween then. It was amazing. I only knew a couple of songs of Slayer, but I enjoyed them too.

 

It was in December—summer in Chile. Very hot, more than 30° Celsius, and because it was our first concert, we were very early in the line, under the intense sun. It was in Chile’s national stadium (the biggest in the country, but in a smaller part of it). Once we got to our seats, Carlos, went to the mosh pits, and we didn’t see him until the whole festival was finished.

 

The concert started with two Chilean metal bands, as opening acts. Panzer, who played classic heavy metal, and then Criminal, a thrash metal band, who at that time had a video of their song Collide, running all the time in MTV’s Headbangers Ball. 

 

Anthrax came with John Bush, as a singer, and Helloween with Andi Deris. Both bands were incredible, the same as Slayer.

 

The entire experience was fantastic, and it’s the starting point in a long list of concerts I have attended (more than 200 to date).

 

For a music fanatic like me, we love watching the bands play live. Of course, you can listen to an album or watch a YouTube concert of them. Yet, that will never compare to experiencing them live and sharing that magic moment with the rest of the crowd. It’s an instant that will never repeat itself, and during the show, you are in another world, free of the worries of your daily life. You’ll be delighted, enjoying the music and the whole experience. And when you leave, you certainly will be hungry for more, and you’ll seek out when it’s the next show you can attend. It’s a never-ending feeling, I can tell because it’s been my life for more than 26 years and I hope it’ll be until the day that I die. Because there’s no better thing than music.