Hi

Not quite - best have managed is centre, row B (2nd row) for Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris 2006, Manchester.

Great gig.

Rich

I've been fortunate to be in the front row for many performances, ranging from 100 seat shows, clubs, arenas, and festival stages. Whether it's front row or even just close to the front, it's always great when you can see the musicianship and interaction that might be missing from the nosebleed seats.

Well yes, a couple times.
Janis Ian, Rodney Crowell, Ricky Skaggs, STOMP... (anyone remember STOMP?)

Seeing Rodney Crowell five feet away was very cool.
And Ricky Skaggs from ten feet.

But there was a fluke I'd like to share.

While in Nashville with a buddy, who was a big fan of the Gatlin Brothers, Larry Gatlin was hosting a variety show at The Ryman,
featuring a number of known players (Charlie McCoy stole the show) as well as a couple up-and-coming hopefuls.

Our tickets were on will-call at the box office.
We were chatting with the ticket agent about how excited my buddy was to be at The Ryman.. the Mother Church,
the Holy Ground of country music.. when I said as a joke--
"Yes, and she is going to tell us there's been a cancellation and we get front row seats."
She got a smile on her face, pointed at the seat map, and said:
"Well, your seats are here, but how would you like to sit HERE instead?"

She gave us front row center of the balcony at the Ryman... arguably the best seats in the house.
She explained that these were reserved for the Chairman or the CEO, or someone in authority,
who was not planning to attend that particular evening.
It was quite a show!
My buddy still talks about it, and I guess I do too.

Notwithstanding, my personal favorite front row experience was seeing Janis Ian a few years back.
Mesmerizing.
How can a "Star" be so personable?
It's pure magic.
She has it, and gives it.

My college roommate and I sat in the front row both nights during the Peter, Paul and Mary
25th anniversary concert in the 80's. More recently, I saw Jackson Browne last year in the front row in St. Louis. Hadn't seen him with a band since the 70's.

Back in the day a buddy and I got tickets to see Heart. Front row. Never forget Nancy kicking that long leg out. 🥴 Opening act was a virtual unknown Johnny Cougar. Been a big fan of his since. I still have moments thinking about Nancy.

I was right up front for a Who show in around 1970 - they were opening for the Association. You couldn't call it "front row" because it was more of a mosh pit situation (long before the term was coined) only with girls, which was nice. Daltrey had a lot of fun swinging his SM58 really low over the crowd, lariat style. And a beautiful blonde girl named Connie something took a jagged, flying chunk of SG Special right in the forehead and bled all over both of us. Fun times!

The best ones for me have been Jason and the Scorchers and Victoria Williams/Creekdippers.

Yes I saw Steve Earle, front row center seats at the Ottawa National Arts Centre for the Copperhead Road tour. :up:

I also saw Bob Dylan in 1983 for free and sat right behind the mixing board and band members friends and family. That's another story though...

Front row, stage center, for CSN&Y, Oakland, CA in 2003.

Awesome concert!

This is the best front row story I've read in a long time.

My band opened for the WHO once, in a town hall somewhere - no stage door! We played our set and the curtains closed (that had those once), their roadies dragged our stuff back stage , and the Who's stuff forward, and we thought, we'll go out front and watch the show. Exit was OMLY by an ordinary wooden door stage right. We decided to exit as Messrs Daltrey, Moon Townshend and Entwhistle were running the gauntlet through the crowd - they hit that door at full speed. I was at the front of my band, got thrown down on the floor - one of them stepped on my chest. Dunno which one.

Spent most of their act chatting up Adam Faith's cousin, or niece or something.

Yeah, a few.

Some that spring to mind was Jeff Beck with Jan Hammer and Jerry Goodman at some outdoor tennis court in Adelaide in 1976. '77? Standing with my elbows on the stage, look left and there was Beck, not 10 feet away, look right and there was Goodman (Original Mahavishnu Orchestra violinist)

Ravi Shankar at a showroom at the International Hotel in Columbo, Sri Lanka, a few days before Christmas, 1977. The powers that be were not very happy seating this long-haired pernicious hippie-looking ski bum in the center front next to Ursula Andress. But they did. She was nice.

Dire Straits in London, spring 1978, after seeing them open for Talking Heads (Not in the front row for that one) Little sweaty club. Mashed up against the stage right in front of Knopfler. "Suntans of Swing" was just starting to get radio play. Imagine my surprise and delight when it started turning up on the radio around the end of the year, Stateside.

The Soft White Underbelly, in , uh, 1980 (? Living in the 70s was tough, man...) At the Old Waldorf, a little club in San Francisco. They had some success under a newer name: Blue Oyster Cult. (I remember an argument with my mom somewhere around '73, over if I was going to be permitted to go over to Medford and see them. She was freaked out about "cult" being in the name. I finally told her, "Yes, Mom. You got me. Its a cult. sometime during the evening we will hold a ritual worshiping Blue Oysters." After letting that sink in I told her "Mom, its a Rock Band. They all have nonsensical names.." I carefully did not show her any album covers, such as "Secret Treaties" with the cover art of the ME-262 or "Tyranny and Mutation," and which featured "Hot Rails to Hell" about summer on the NYC subway, or Dominance & Submission," or Od' on Life Itself. Not to mention "Career of Evil." )

Sat at the edge of stage table in front of David Lindley about a year ago, when he last played the Triple Door. Talked Baritone Weissenborns after the show. I've either sat stageside or in the first row of tables (Its a dinner-theater) for a bunch of shows. Richard Thompson. The Subdudes. Roy Rodgers and Norton Buffalo. Los Lobos.

TW

Have you ever been in the front row for a concert?
 

Yes a few times

Ralph McTell ( four times )
The Hellicasters ( three times )
The Shadows ( six concerts )
Olivia Newton John
The Eagles ( third row)
Albert Lee
Gordon Giltrapp
Big Jim Sullivan

Eric Clapton at a town party concert in 2018. 15 ft directly in front of my son and I for 2 hours. It was the first Time I’d seen a major headliner and could hear everything they said to each other off mic and see exactly how they were passing solos etc . It was amazing!

You generally have to know someone who works for the promoter. What people generally don't know are tickets are usually on sale at the venue a few days BEFORE it's officially announced to the public. My buddy's 'mistress' worked for a big promoter and she use to give him inside information...which he did passed to me with the general order to book the tickets.

Every gig front row central for about 3 years. We sat next to some famous people who gave us the 'What are you doing here...and how did you get those seats?" look. I don't remember who dumped who, but after the 'relationship' dissolved between my friend and this girl we were back to sitting or should I say STANDING at the back with the great unwashed masses.