Friday Fun: Concert Merch

Are you the proud owner of growing collection of concert merchandise? Do you have a Springsteen tour jacket? How about a Rolling Stones tour poster from the 60s, a Led Zeppelin T-shirt from the ‘70s or a Cheap Trick ball cap from the ‘80s?

Photo: AP Photo

HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.

Back in the day, most concert merch consisted of t-shirts, maybe a few caps or buttons and a poster or two. But as baby boomers’ earning powers grew, so did the memorabilia offerings in venue lobbies. From leather jackets, to sweat pants to… whatever, today’s concert scene is as much about what you bring home in addition to memories of the night’s performance.

One thing is for sure – the older the concert merch, the more valuable it might be. A walk through eBay today revealed a concert poster for the Beatles 1966 appearance at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park – the lads’ last concert ever – currently priced at $15,000.

Photo: AP Photo

Photo: Dara Kushner / www.daravision.com

Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen turns an ear to the crowd at New York City’s Beacon Theatre.

But if that’s too rich for your blood, there’s a 1967 Monterey Int’l Pop Festival poster attracting bids over $2,000 and a 1966 Bob Dylan concert program receiving offers over $500.

What about your collection? What’s the most expensive, the rarest or even the most unusual souvenir in your concert stash? Virtually every piece of merch has a story behind it and now it’s time to tell the tale in the comment thread below.