Seattle Rock History: The Kingdome
It was as gray as the Seattle skies and as massive as the mountains that surround western Washington. Merely 24 years old when it was demolished to make way for purpose built stadiums. …The Kingdome.
Not only was The Kingdome used to entice the NFL and MLB, it also brought some of the greatest rock n’ roll bands of our lifetime to Seattle. The Kingdome was loud and proved to be difficult for sound men, but there was nothing like filling it up with 70,000 fans to see your favorite bands.
Sir Paul McCartney made his way there twice. The first of which was on June 10, 1976, accompanied by The Wings, the cute Beatle opened the floodgates of epic shows to follow by playing the premier show at the Kingdome. I was there, snug in my 7 month pregnant Mother’s belly. Furthering the belief that music truly transcends, from deep within the womb my lifelong love affair for live music and large crowds was formed.
Over the years, The Kingdome, welcomed the likes of powerhouse acts such as The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Madonna and U2 to name a few. In 1978, Led Zeppelin embarked on what was to be their final US tour, which included a stop at the Kingdome. My father, who took me to my first concert at age 6 (Crosby, Stills and Nash), has talked about the legend of this show countless times. Three days camping out to buy the tickets, another three days of camping out to be one of the first inside, and a show to which all others would be measured against.
In 1989 the Kingdome introduced me to my first festival experience as well as my first parent free concert. The Van Halen’s Monsters of Rock tour blew me away. Three teenage friends and I spent the day joyriding public transportation and being rebellious. I don’t think we got home till 4am. I was 13 and probably had a contact high, when my face was melted off by heavy metal legends. On the bill: Van Halen (Haggar), Scorpions, Metallica, Dokken, and Kingdom Come. The Scorpions stole the show and the adventure of the festival was forever in my blood.
Before the Kingdome brought its large capacity to Seattle, very few major shows made their way to the Northwest. Seattle area music lovers were unable to see some of their favorite bands live for years. We are privileged to live in a city that is on the forefront of the music radar. It is evident that The Kingdome has played a crucial role in the Seattle scene and for that should be recognized. Every great musician has been inspired by someone and for over two decades, The Kingdome, delivered so many possible inspirations to the youth of Seattle. The Kingdome’s mark on the skyline has long been replaced, but the mark it left on the heart of Seattle, continues to pulsate.
Written By: Joshua Ludolf
Photo one: magliery.com
Photo two: Joshua Ludolf
Hola, Ludofs. I found your page via Google, searching for “monsters of rock kingdome.” I just watched the documentary “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” and was trying to remember whether Dokken was one of the openers for that show, as they were the opener for Judas Priest on the night HMPL was filmed. They were; great article, thanks.
If you want to watch HMPL, by the way, it’s only 20 minutes long and can be viewed for free on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/114794/heavy-metal-parking-lot . Really captures the feel of those giant stadium shows in the 80s.
(One minor quibble: that Monsters of Rock show was in 1988, not 1989 as your article says. You can verify this by looking at the date on the ticket stub in the second photo.)
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