This past week I posted an On This Date video for the third show of my then-young life and it was another great show that made a huge impression on me. After seeing Van Halen in June of 1981 and Ozzy Osbourne in January of 1982, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts rolled into Fresno on May 21, 1982 behind the wildly successful I Love Rock And Roll album.
This was a change from the two arena shows as it took place at the Warnor’s Theater, a regal old venue of about 1,800 seats. Also different was the audience, which had a different vibe from the other two shows. There were a lot of fans from the punk sided of the fence, dressed like Joan Jett and her band with lots of leather, eye-liner, spiked hair, etc. Great energy.
So, here’s a look back to the early days for me and one of the events that showed me that concerts take a lot of different shapes and involve lots of different kinds of people. This was one of the most energetic shows I’ve seen to date.