Nils Lofgren and related artists

By the 1980s, multiple-night concerts at smaller, single venues were giving way to giant arena shows, and event tickets began to reflect the change from up-close-and-personal to binoculars-advised. Concert tickets from the beginning of this period still sported background colors, band icons or small, familiar symbols on their faces and were computer generated, standard in size and included the all-important seat and row number data. By the end of the decade, much of the special imagery had disappeared. Although these tickets may be less flashy, they are mementos of some of the greatest shows in rock, punk rock and heavy metal history.