My First Rock Shirt

I was 13, and my buddy got tickets to the Motley Crue show on their "Dr. Feelgood" tour. I was amped for the Crue, but mainly for the opening act, my favorite band at the time, Tesla. 

Even though they're now known as 'Tesla - The Band' (thanks a lot, Elon Musk!), the band was flying high back in 1992, touring the world with the excellent second album, The Great Radio Controversy, and its #1 song, Love Song. 

We got to Skydome and looked at the merch booths before finding our seats. My buddy, who was a huge Crue fan, naturally found a shirt to his liking. I was torn, because my love of the Crue knew no bounds, and their concert shirt game was tight. Tesla's was not as impressive. However, one shone like a beacon from amongst shirts with the generic album covers and requisite shot of the band. 

Nikolai Tesla's eyes almost bored a hole through my skull and drew me in like a moth to a flame. The shirt was designed by legendary rock artist Pushead, who had done many classic shirts for Metallica, The Misfits, The Exploited, the Crüe and many other great groups. He is the Rock Shirt Whisperer.

I put it on immediately, and we got to our seats a few minutes before Tesla took the stage. I was elated (and relieved) that the band put on a killer show, with their twin guitars trading solos, their singer Jeff Keith belting out the hits in his trademark Janis-Joplin-meets-Rod-Stewart-then-put-in-a-blender voice. Mötley Crüe put on a show for the ages, but Tesla won the rock shirt battle that night.

​Marcus