Welcome to My First Show, where we
give bands a chance to talk about the first shows they ever attended --
no matter how uncool and embarrassing those tales may be.
Guitarist Scott Porter has helped anchor Record Hop with two fantastic full-lengths, especially their self-titled second album, which was released in 2008.
Boozy, menacing and friendly all at once, the Denton-based four-piece has wowed people for years.
Now hard at work on a new record, Porter recently took time out with his busy schedule at the 35 Conferette, where his band debuted a whole slew of new material during its performances, to talk about his first show experiences.
Not only did he see Guns N' Roses in 1992, but he saw them when all sorts of media folks were anticipating a messy riot like the tour's previous date. And he also remembers being at the Bronco Bowl in its heyday, too. Hit the jump to read about his experiences.
What was the first show you ever saw? Did your parents come with you?
The first show I ever saw was Living Colour and King's X at the Bronco
Bowl. I think it was March of 1990. My parents dropped me and a buddy
off. My favorite thing about the night wasn't the bands, though. It was
discovering the Bronco Bowl. I loved the old Bronco Bowl so much, before
they remodeled it. Going to see shows there seemed like a weekly thing
in the early '90s. Like, "Well, it's been four days. Guess we need to go
to the Bronco Bowl and see [insert up-and-coming grunge superstar here]."
And this was all going down just a couple of years before I started
playing in bands. So, even to this day, all of my rock 'n' roll daydreams
take place on the Bronco Bowl stage. That place was perfect.
What was the first show you saw with your own money?
I started working at Albertson's a couple of days after I turned 16, and
my gang was already pretty into seeing shows, so I can't really
pinpoint which was the first I paid for with my sackboy money. I can, however, pinpoint the last show at which I was dropped off by
adults: Guns N' Roses at Starplex. Summer of 1991. They were doing a
two-night stand, and my buddies and I went to the second show. The Dallas shows marked the band's return to the stage after the
infamous St. Louis riot. They actually had their gear spread out in the
big room of the convention center in Fort Worth, where the road crew
took inventory and did repairs on damaged equipment. All of the local
news teams were out in front of Starplex for the first show, and I
watched the broadcast with my parents, waiting to see if the concert
would erupt into chaos. Obviously, it went smoothly, and since Axl Rose didn't attempt to murder
me the next night, my parents decided I could be trusted to go to shows
with the gang.
The first concert we went to in our own cars was the first Lollapalooza.
After I walked onto the amphitheater lawn to the sight and sound of
Gibby Haynes unloading a shotgun full of blanks on the stage, I gave up
on Guns N' Roses for about a decade and immediately started drinking,
smoking cigarettes, and taking acid. Ha. But that was a long time ago.
Record Hop has played many, many shows, but what do you remember about the first show?
Our first show was at Dusty's in Denton. Late 2002. We played with our
pals in Mugzu. The one thing that sticks out in my memory from that show
is Frankie Richards coming up to us afterwards and complimenting the
band. It meant a lot to us because we like his band, Failure Plus. He
booked Record Hop to open for Failure Plus at Rubber Gloves about a
month or so later, which was a dream gig for us. The fact that Frankie
was at our most recent Dallas show, a week ago at the Pastime Tavern,
adds a little warmth and fuzziness to this story as I recollect it.
Frankie's a solid dude.
