My First Show: Steve Visneau Saw Plenty of Folk and Bluegrass Festivals, But His First Show With A Ticket Stub Came When He Saw KISS.

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.

Whether you’ve seen him behind a drum kit or a camera (which he sometimes uses as a contributor in the pages of the Observer), chances are good you’ve seen the Steve Visneau smile. Dude always makes it abundantly clear when he’s happy doing what he does.

And he’s done plenty: Visneau has played with a number of acts over the years, including The Queers, Slowride, Saboteur, J. Charles & The Trainrobbers, and The Ramonahs.

A few days after playing with The Ramonahs at La Grange, Visneau was kind enough to share some of his first show memories. Once again, we have a musician who wanted the best — and got it — for his first show experience.

Plus, he shares with us a little about how Loverboy turned him loose. Read on after the jump.

Do you remember the first show you ever saw? Did your parents take you?
It was KISS on the Alive! tour, on October 2, 1975, at the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. I was eight years old. That was my official first concert. My mom took me — she’s rad that way. I had been to countless bluegrass festivals as I grew up in upstate New York, so we were always in some field, on a farm, in a tent. Most weekends, it was listening to some great folk and bluegrass acts. But KISS was the first with a ticket stub.
 
What was the first show you saw with your own money?
It was Loverboy at Reunion Arena. I drove to it. I should not have driven home, if ya get what I’m saying.
 
What do you remember from the first show with the Ramonahs?
Lipstick. The Ritz. Spandex. Hair spray. Backstage. Addicted.
 
Do you still play any songs from that first show now?
Ah, no.