Tool

September 28, 2001 7:28 AM

Tool played in Philly last night, and I was lucky enough to go. Always wanted to see them, but for certain reasons, never have till now. Any bands out there you've been wanting to see live, or wanted to see live before a split-up ruined your chances?
posted by mich9139 (93 comments total)

They had King Crimson opening for them on the west coast. That would have been an amazing show. Shame I live by the other ocean. Went to the latest Nine Inch Nails tour for the sole purpose of seeing A Perfect Circle before they released their album, Mer de Noms.

Also had a desire to see the Grateful Dead for some odd reason, but then Garcia died.
posted by mich9139 at 7:37 AM on September 28, 2001

Thanks for the invite dave! I wanted to see Luscious Jackson before they split.
posted by adampsyche at 7:39 AM on September 28, 2001

I've managed to see most of the bands I'm really passionate about. But I still haven't seen Karate, Poe, Jurassic 5, Mr. Bungle, Devo, Badly Drawn Boy, Beth Orton, Jonathan Richman, Belle and Sebastian, Calexico, Ida, and Ween.

A few bands have broken up (or their lead singers died) before I had the chance to see them, like Frente!, Soul Coughing, Nirvana, Blind Melon, the Fugees. I would have liked to have seen Bill Hicks perform.

Then there are certain bands that have reached a certain level of popularity, so that any chance of seeing them in a small enjoyable venue has become impossible. Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Bjork, Weezer, Bob Dylan, and David Bowie, for example.

And some other artists just never tour, like XTC, Sean Lennon, and John Zorn.

I would've liked to have seen several of the great blues and jazz legends before they died, so that sucks. And seeing the Beatles before they broke up would have been nice, but I wasn't born for another ten years.
posted by waxpancake at 7:42 AM on September 28, 2001

i would of really liked to see marvelous 3, but they broke up a couple months ago. i would also really like to see cravin melon again but they broke up to. i'm a big concert nut. i average a show a week. sister hazel is my favorite, i'm seeing them tomorrow for the 22nd time :-)

hehe, this is my first post here.
posted by hazelmeg at 7:42 AM on September 28, 2001

Saw Sigur Ros last night. It was amazingly intense and beautiful (moved the normally stoic self to tears). Go see them if they come to your town.

Would have liked to see the Pixies...
posted by acornface at 7:49 AM on September 28, 2001

I'll always regret not seeing Van Halen with David Lee Roth, Metallica with Cliff Burton, Pre-Joshua Tree U2, The Dead, The Alarm, and Phish before the 17 year old hippie wanna-bees took over the scene.
posted by bondcliff at 7:53 AM on September 28, 2001

My ex-roommate saw Green Day open for Bad Religion back in '94 or so, before Dookie came out. Always wished I'd gone to that show - and yeah, Green Day is still around & touring, but it's just not the same as catching them in some small club where nobody's ever heard of them before. Also wish I had managed to catch Screeching Weasel before they broke up recently (supposedly for real this time).

And you know, this has got me thinking - I haven't been to a concert in a while.. I used to go all the time, but it seems like any more it's always the same bands touring. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing the Slackers all the time, but when they're the only band I've seen in the past year or so.. it kind of sucks. Someone find me a good punk rock show or some nice mellow ska & I'll be a happy boy again.
posted by zempf at 7:54 AM on September 28, 2001

I never got to see Marillion with Fish on vocals.
posted by salmacis at 7:55 AM on September 28, 2001

I saw Blind Melon when they came to my college. They had a great opening band called the Renegade Saints, who have since broken up. Blind Melon was great, too, and when they started playing this long, weird, eclectic piece that turned out to be a complete rework of "No Rain", we were blown away. After the song was over, Shannon Hoon said, "Sometimes you have to fix what MTV fucks up."

I saw Tool in London 4 years ago, when they were supporting "Aenema". Awesome. I just missed them here in Cleveland with Meshuggah, which must have been an amazing show. I'm driving down to DC next Friday to see them with Fantomas, a project of Mike Patton, from another band broken up before it's time, Faith No More. Never got to see them, and it breaks my heart.
posted by starvingartist at 7:59 AM on September 28, 2001

nirvana and miles davis...two concerts i was asked to go to but didn't because i was too busy(ugh!!). a month or so before kurt died and a week before miles died. i thought that i would get another chance...phooey!
posted by m2bcubed at 8:00 AM on September 28, 2001

nice point waxpancake. there's a lot of bands i would have liked to see during certain times in their career, like early Pink Floyd, pre- ...And Justice For All Metallica. Early Sonic Youth. Even early Tool would have been a blast, though their prog-rock leanings are a good time.

adampsyche, you are welcome to go to any concert with me that you'd like, except for the fact that you have been unnaturally busy as of late.

starvingartist , Fantomas was cool. I dug them a lot, my buddy didn't, and he was the one looking forward to them. It's Mike-Patton-as-vocal-toy music, not Mike-Patton as-amazing-vocalist music.
posted by mich9139 at 8:03 AM on September 28, 2001

I really wish I would have seen Refused or Cap'n Jazz while they were together. In two weeks, I will finally get to see Bjork for the first time in Chicago.
And being from Minneapolis, I wish I could have seen Husker Du and the Replacements back in the mid-80's.
Thanks for the heads-up, acornface, Sigur Ros is playing here tonight and I was going to skip it, but now I think I will go.
posted by emoeby at 8:08 AM on September 28, 2001

I always wanted to see WHAM!. However, considering the overwhelming genius of Andrew Ridgeley and the other guy (can’t recall his name right now), I understand why they had to go their separate ways. Other bands I missed in concert that split are New Edition (at least I got to see BBD) and Musical Youth (I think they passed the Dutchie too much).
posted by Werd7 at 8:10 AM on September 28, 2001

I'm going to see Bob Dylan this November. I just thought I'd brag about that.

My friend has an amusing (though somewhat) bitter story that he begged his mom to let him go see Smashing Pumpkins when theyh were here & he was in high school, and his mom said he couldn't. She said that he could go see all the concerts he wanted when he was in college, and if they were that good, they'd still be around.

His senior year of high school, they break up.
posted by dagnyscott at 8:16 AM on September 28, 2001

I never had a chance to see Pavement before they split.

But, I did get to see Stephen Malkmus at a small club in Dallas last March and it was amazing.
posted by Benway at 8:17 AM on September 28, 2001

Saw Pavement at Glasto a couple of years ago - really good. I'm sorry I never got to see the Pixies. Spiritualized are playing tonight. I've been waiting years to see them, can't wait!

At the top of my wish list of people to see live are Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits
posted by twistedonion at 8:33 AM on September 28, 2001

I saw Dizzy Gillespie at a small, smoke-filled club in DC. Unfortunately, I was too young to care, so the only memories I took away were

1. Damn those cheeks are big
2. Jazz is confusing

I also saw Lyle Lovett, Bonnie Raitt, the Indigo Girls, and They Might Be Giants -- each time, I was too young to care much, although my dad always seemed pretty excited.

Then in 1990, he introduced me to Nine Inch Nails and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which I dismissed as "dad music".
posted by jragon at 8:38 AM on September 28, 2001

I wanted to see the Pixies one more time but those fuckers just up and walked out. Tried to see HAZEL but they didn't show up for their last show, the bastards. Making the one before that their last, I guess. The Breeders didn't break up so much as fade out. I wanted to see the TALKING HEADS really badly but I was too young. Always, always, ALWAYS wanted to see Bjork but when tickets are that expensive, only rich people can be "true fans." Pavement, yeah, would have liked to see them. Jimmy Hendrix died the day I was born, so I missed that. I would have liked to see the Rolling Stones, when they were cool. But not now. CIBO MATTO are probably one of the best live acts I ever saw (have seen em twice, once in a tiny little club in Sacramento where they played a 30 minute noisecore version of Black Hole Sun as an encore) and I'd see them again if they'd only tour the west coast. BUILT TO SPILL and SWERVEDRIVER I would have liked to see. They frickin rock. MAN OR ASTROMAN? would have been pretty good I bet. Elvis Costello, back when he rocked - before all this Burt Bacharacharach crap. I'd like to see Mick Harvey by himself, doing the Gainsbourg stuff or his own. Herb Alpert would have been cool. I'd like to see PLASTILINA MOSH. I'd pay to see Lamb but last tour's tickets were like $50 and that's just ridiculous for a club. David Holmes I would pay for if it were more than just him & a tapedeck. Elastica I'd like to see, if I weren't so embarassed to be seen seeing them...
posted by luriete at 8:42 AM on September 28, 2001

Always wanted to see the pogues, but they broke up when i was too young to see them live. Lead singer and ferocious alcoholic Shane McGowan has done a load of solo gigs, but its not the same. He's doing a reuinion gig in dublin at christmas, but i'm terrified he'll be too plastered to do the occasion justice.
posted by kev23f at 8:43 AM on September 28, 2001

bondcliff: I'll always regret not seeing Van Halen with David Lee Roth, Metallica with Cliff Burton, Pre-Joshua Tree U2, The Dead, The Alarm, and Phish before the 17 year old hippie wanna-bees took over the scene.

I've seen U2 six times, mostly pre Joshua Tree (though I saw the ZooTV tour), and they were all pretty amazing. I've seen The Alarm four times, but the best was in '88 when they opened for Dylan at Mud Island Amphitheatre in Memphis (where I've seen some AWESOME shows, including INXS in '86 and R.E.M. in '86). The crowd was mostly old hippies there to see Dylan, but there was a knot of us who were there to see the Alarm and we all crowded down front during their set. Mike Peters came out into the audience during "Sixty-Eight Guns" and my best friend and I got to sing into the mic with him on the choruses. The other band I got to see several times before they broke up and were completely amazing every time was Toad the Wet Sprocket. Damn I miss them and The Alarm.
posted by sjarvis at 8:46 AM on September 28, 2001

I was seven when I went to my first concert. It was 1986 and I was living in London. We went to the Hammersmith Odeon to see Run DMC, Whodini, LL Cool J, and the Beastie Boys. I haven't seen a better show since, although valiant efforts have been made by Tenacious D and U2.
posted by kcalder at 8:50 AM on September 28, 2001

I agree... Tool was awesome; I caught them last week.
I hated my sister for seeing The Police's Synchronicity Tour without me and what about Live Aid?
posted by FreezBoy at 8:52 AM on September 28, 2001

i saw the pixies in the early 90's. they played for a half hour and then when there was an encore, they didn't return...i liked the band alot...but...the concert should have lasted longer! (it was at first avenue by the way, they hung out at the bar after which was cool)
posted by m2bcubed at 8:57 AM on September 28, 2001

Damn, so many... Top of the list gotta be Fela Kuti, then probably Curtis Mayfield - the rest of the pack fall somewhere far behind.

PS Salmacis, I saw Marillion with Fish in Aylesbury several times and they were... oh what the hell, none of you know me - *actually pretty good*. Not sure I'd enjoy them so much now though...
posted by bifter at 9:01 AM on September 28, 2001

I wanted to see 'A Tribe Called Quest' and had my chance when they were on the Helly Nasty tour with the Beastie Boys.

A backed up freeway caused us to miss their opening act on their last ever tour.

Damn.
posted by Mark at 9:02 AM on September 28, 2001

I had tickets to go see Lollapalooza in 1992 (Ministry/Pearl Jam/Soundgarden), went away for a week before the show, and came back to discover that my friend had changed his mind and sold the tickets. And I've never forgiven him.
posted by jess at 9:04 AM on September 28, 2001

I've seen Bjork and Tricky in small clubs and Portishead in Austin which were all really good.

The two greatest concert experiences of my life though have been seeing Radiohead w/ Sigur Ross in the Netherlands and seeing Tool on an early Aenima tour date on LSD, both we're surreal experiences. I would highly recommend going to see Tool on this current tour, even if you're not into that kind of music, if you go you will be converted.

I really wished I had seen Alice In Chains and Nirvana, its a real shame to have missed them. I just wasn't going concerts yet when they were touring.
posted by efullerton at 9:06 AM on September 28, 2001

Two words. Marvin Gaye.
posted by bryanzera at 9:14 AM on September 28, 2001

I never got to see Dead Can Dance live, though I did make it to Brendan Perry. I also have never seen Lou Reed live, though I was in possession of tickets for his Berkeley show which was cancelled because of the Rodney King riots.

I managed to see the Pogues twice. I also fear the reunion will not make it to the shores of California, but I would be first in line. Kev23f, if you want to trade any boots, email me.

I would have loved to have seen Leonard Cohen...though I hear he may have some new stuff in the works. It would really have have to have been late 70s when I was about 8.

I also didn't make it to Bauhaus either when they were a going concern or on the reunion. Glad I saw RamonesMania tour. Would have loved to see the Clash, Pistols so many more.

mmm, anyone got any syrup?
posted by Kafkaesque at 9:19 AM on September 28, 2001

sjarvis, I saw U2 on The Joshua Tree tour three times and they blew me away. Then I saw them on the Zoo TV tour and it was like someone kidnapped them and replaced them with... I dunno... some other band. It was disapointing.

Glad to see someone else rememberes The Alarm.
posted by bondcliff at 9:19 AM on September 28, 2001

I'm curious about how the stadium tour is and will be... I'm catching them in Sacramento and Shoreline in November, and saw them twice prior on this tour in Berkeley this past August.

The small show with King Crimson was amazing... a life altering experience, so I hope that the Arena tour is able to capture the energy and power that was felt in the small venue.
posted by darian at 9:22 AM on September 28, 2001

I got to see the Bauhaus Resurrection Tour in DC in October, 1998. I was an enormous fan in high school, but I missed getting to see them by about 2 years. You don't usually expect a band to come back after 15. That show was a peak experience!
posted by Fenriss at 9:26 AM on September 28, 2001

I would have loved to have seen the Sex Pistols - reading about their early gigs (especially the one at the 100 Club, which well over a hundred people claim to have attended) makes them sound like riots, but they seemed to be pretty inspired.

I saw Kenickie just before they broke up and loved it, as they were such great entertainers - Motorhead were playing in the venue next door that night so Kenickie kept doing cover versions of their songs to try and entice some of the band members to come to their gig instead.
posted by LauraVW at 9:28 AM on September 28, 2001

just so I dont make that mistake I am driving from western ny to boston to see spiritualized play, some great ones would have been my bloody valentine, pixies, and dead can dance.
posted by jasonspaceman at 9:32 AM on September 28, 2001

The best concerts I've been to: Dead Can Dance (Spiritchaser Tour), REM (Green Tour), a show in my college town that had Mudhoney, Tad and a surprise appearance by Nirvana (Bleach era)-just weeks before Nevermind came out, and the best - a show with the Pixies and Bob Mould.

I would love to have seen Bauhaus at their peak (though I saw and loved their Resurrection Tour), and several more Pixies performances.
posted by kokogiak at 9:41 AM on September 28, 2001

Mock me if you will, but I would have loved to see ABBA circa 1982. I saw the next best thing (I guess) when I saw this ABBA cover band called Bjorn Again. They're Australian but speak in Swedish accents. It was hysterical. I think I frightened the guy playing Bjorn by screaming "Bjorn, you ROCK!" repeatedly...

Also would have loved to see Adam Ant (with or without the Ants), Motley Crue before they got fat, and Tori Amos when she was still playing small venues.
posted by witchstone at 10:11 AM on September 28, 2001

Sorry gang, but the Pixies ROCKED live. I've been lucky to see some great shows live: Lou Reed, the Minutemen several times, Love & Rockets (but not Bauhaus), Johnny Cash a couple, the Ramones of course, Tom Waits around Frank's Wild Years era, and a ton of mid-80s LA punk rock.

My claim to fame is No Doubt used to open for another band that opened for my lame cover band. A stretch, but true.

But the two shows I really regret missing are the Who with the Clash in 83 and the Clash with the English Beat in 81. I did get to see the Clash at the US Festival. I also wish I had seen The Jam.
posted by billder at 10:15 AM on September 28, 2001

oh, but the best show ever was Husker Du, the Minutemen and the Meat Puppets at UCLA in 85.

oh yeah, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in small clubs when they had just the one album.
posted by billder at 10:17 AM on September 28, 2001

Oh and the number one missed show for me would have been the Swans final show, as recorded on Swans Are Dead.

As far as amazing experiences, front row center for Waits at the Wiltern on the Mule Variations tour is pretty bloody close. The Creatures Anima Animus show was simply religious too.

Now if the Tindersticks will get it in gear to make it to California.

Where is that TicketStub site when ya need it?
posted by Kafkaesque at 10:25 AM on September 28, 2001

Galaxie 500.
posted by holgate at 10:39 AM on September 28, 2001

Would have love to seen Husker Du. I've seen Bob Mould's solo tours and the very last Sugar tour.
posted by dilokiam at 10:40 AM on September 28, 2001

The best "collectable" gig I ever saw was 1981/82 King Crimson (Discipline tour, and then just before they recorded Beat). Pink Floyd The Wall at Earl's Court 1980 - also interesting. Also saw Dave Gilmour performing at the Royal Festival Hall. Bit of an old person's rockist fantasy, but he did get Robert Wyatt to do the Doctor from Comfortably Numb, which was nice (Wyatt was so stagefrit and distracted he couldn't find a tune or get the lines to scan, but that wasn't the point).

Favourite "It's Only Me Then" gigs of the last couple of years: Slapp Happy, Peter Blegvad's Woodchopper's Ball (went on for hours and hours with bewildered and shell-shocked guest performers wandering around in the bar); Magma performing the Theusz Hamtaak Trilogy; Ivor Cutler, Jim Hall.

Wish I'd seen: Talking Heads, XTC, Joy Division, Pixies, Jeff Buckley, Zappa, (Robert Fripp's) League of Gentlemen, Cocteau Twins among the bands I could have seen if I'd been less crap and more motivated (and precocious).

Still hope to see: Stereolab, Tortoise, Steely Dan, Hedningarna, June Tabor and ohhh, innumerably others.
posted by Grangousier at 10:45 AM on September 28, 2001

Ditto on the aforesaid Pixies. I was just a little too young to catch them when they were together. Also, My Bloody Valentine, Soul Coughing, Jawbreaker, Pavement, and early Sonic Youth(finally saw them a couple years ago, but it's just not the same.) And, of course, the people who died... Jeff Buckley, Brainiac, Nirvana, John Lennon, the Ramones and so on...

I've covered most of my favorites that are still around, though I still badly need to catch Fugazi sometime, as well as Sleater-Kinney, Built to Spill, the Flaming Lips, and maybe Johnny Cash, Bjork, Radiohead and REM, if I can make myself endure a mega-stadium venue long enough to enjoy them.

I've passed up chances to see Dylan and the Stones. I think I'd rather keep my idea of them as legends than ruin it by seeing them as geezers.
posted by jdunn_entropy at 11:00 AM on September 28, 2001

Let's see. Every time I see Flogging Molly I'm completely blown away. For any of you who caught them on the Warped Tour last year you'll know that they're awesome as all get out - but anyone who's seen them in a small venue knows how much they rock the house. And Social Distortion live is just... Well, if you've seen them you'll know how much one can gush about their live shows.

Anyone who's also seen Sublime knows that they're not the greatest live band, but the vibe was entireley too good and made up for the fact that Brad was entirely too high and tossed to be on stage.

I still regret to this day not seeing Underworld before they split up. Or Ozomatli when Chali2na and Cut Chemist toured regularly with them. Oh, and I'm too young to have gone and seen Dead Kennedys do their thing, but I'd love to have seen Jello up on stage rocking out with East Bay Ray and 6025.

I still really want to see: Johnny Cash, Cake, Jurassic 5, The Eels, Atari Teenage Riot, Bloodhound Gang and Tenacious D.
posted by dincognito at 11:02 AM on September 28, 2001

Oh and The Replacements!
posted by dilokiam at 11:06 AM on September 28, 2001

Would have loved to see the Pixies but just a couple of years to young.

And can you imagine what it would have been like to hear My Bloody Valentine's, Isn't Anything, Live

No you cant and unfortunately neither can I. I probably would have found the woman of my dreams, as any girl into MBV would have a good chance to be
posted by Grok09 at 11:09 AM on September 28, 2001

ah, Jeff Buckley, a man who died way too young
posted by billder at 11:14 AM on September 28, 2001

I saw Tool on the Tour kick of in St.Paul. It was true elysium.

I am seeing Janes Addiction in oct. I hope they play with the passion they had in late 80, early 90s.

I would of loved to of seen Pixies or Sublime in their prime. Led Zep on there tour after Physical Graffiti. Public Enemy would of been great to see. I could go on and on but looking at all the great bands people have mentioned have done it all for me. MeFi readers have excellent tastes music.

I think one of the keys to seeing great shows is to find a bands in their prime. often a difficult task but I've done it time and time again back when I just graduated from HS.
posted by Qambient at 11:17 AM on September 28, 2001

I would have loved to seen Stevie Ray Vaughan in some tiny bar in Austin
posted by billder at 11:20 AM on September 28, 2001

I also wanted to see the Travelling Wilburys, but could never find them in concert. You would think since they were the "Travelling" Wilburys, they'd go on tour. However, when Lefty Wilbury (the one who sounded like and kind of resembled Roy Orbison) left the group before their last album, they were bound to fizzle out.
posted by Werd7 at 11:20 AM on September 28, 2001

However, when Lefty Wilbury (the one who sounded like and kind of resembled Roy Orbison)

Ummm, that was Roy
posted by billder at 11:22 AM on September 28, 2001

Greatest concert I've seen was Muddy Waters in a small theatre in Delaware. Makes me want to travel back in time and catch Robert Johnson, and Howlin' Wolf.

Of three bands nominated for the rock-n-roll hall of fame this year whom I hope get in (might legitimize the place a little) I've seen the Ramones, and the Talking Heads, but would have loved seeing the Sex Pistols live.

Others that I'll regret never having seen: pavement, husker du, the replacements, the stooges, elvis (skinny young, and xtra large older), rockpile, Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes.
posted by bragadocchio at 11:36 AM on September 28, 2001

billder: oh, but the best show ever was Husker Du, the Minutemen and the Meat Puppets at UCLA in 85.

I am seething with envy right now. I would have given anything to see the Minutemen. When I meet people who have seen the Minutemen, I ply them with drinks and (politely) force them to tell me everything they remember about it.
posted by cowboy_sally at 11:51 AM on September 28, 2001

Here's a few of my opinions about shows that others wanted to see...

Replacements: Bad (very) once, indifferent once, amazing once
Husker Du: Loud - Could tell they were unhappy - broke up a couple months later
Clash/Who - It was better seeing each of these bands on their own. The Clash's opening slot for the Who was way too short.
Pixies - decent as an opener. Incredible as a headliner. I still have the setlist. They played every song ever written.
posted by websavvy at 12:07 PM on September 28, 2001

I hung around with deadheads, I lived in Eugene, Oregon, yet I did not see the Dead. I loved the Meat Puppets, circa mid-late 80's, yet I missed them live, twice. I swear, if they trooped into my living room and started playing "Enchanted Pork Fist", i'd somehow manage to not see them. I did not go see the Squeeze, and the people who invited me had backstage passes and ended up bar-hopping with the band after the show.
posted by gamera at 12:21 PM on September 28, 2001

Pixies, Pixies, Pixies.... Would have loved to seem them around 89 or 90 when they were in their prime, but I was only like 9 then, so I probably wouldn't have been interested in them.

I would have loved to see the Clash at anytime, pre "Cut the Crap" error, The Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, X-Ray Spex, Stiff Little Fingers, Iggy Pop ( back in the 60's or 70's), Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Leonard Cohen, the Ramones, Braid, At The Dive-In (God, do they rock), and Elvis Costello.

I would still love to see Jurassic 5, The Eels, Beck, Frank Black, Moby, Garbage, Weezer, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stoneage, Eliot Smith, Air, Beastie Boys, The Getup Kids, The Promise Ring, Far, Small Brown Bike, Alkaline Trio, Mighty Mighty Bosstones..... etc, etc, etc

Too many bands to name.
posted by SweetJesus at 12:21 PM on September 28, 2001

• BareNaked Ladies: Stunt Tour
• Billy Joel: His farewell tour.
• Bon Jovi: Seen 'em 4 times, most recently at the Giants Stadium.
• Collective Soul: 2nd last show of the Blender Tour.
• Deep Purple: 25th anniversary tour in Mumbai.
• Def Leppard: Seen 'em twice, last year at Jones Beach they performed All The Young Dudes with Ian Hunter (Mott The Hopple).

And many other shows, but these are the best ones I've been to.
posted by riffola at 12:23 PM on September 28, 2001

And can you imagine what it would have been like to hear My Bloody Valentine's, Isn't Anything, Live

Rollercoaster tour, 1992. MBV, Blur, Dinosaur Jr., Jesus and Mary Chain. And yes, it was.

(Those of my friends who saw Jeff Buckley live were actually quite disappointed, surprisingly.)
posted by holgate at 12:32 PM on September 28, 2001

I am seething with envy right now. I would have given anything to see the Minutemen. When I meet people who have seen the Minutemen, I ply them with drinks and (politely) force them to tell me everything they remember about it.

cowboy_sally: The Minutemen were quite a sight to see. 300 pounds of D Boon bouncing around for two hours. Watt's funny faces pounding on the bass. George's hair getting in his way. The best thing about them was they were never pretentious, they were just having fun. After one show where we were trying to just sit on the stage and the bouncers hassled us, Watt came to us after the show and apologized for the bouncers. That's class.

I actually have the set list from their last show in SoCal, a wonderful sunset show in Pedro.

BTW: Mike Watt is on tour right now, and playing some Minutemen tunes. If he hits a town near you, go see him. I couldn't when he was in Portland and kick myself in the ass. He was even at my favorite coffee shop the next morning!

Ok, I like the Minutemen.
posted by billder at 12:32 PM on September 28, 2001

argh. i narrowly missed galaxie 500 and lush on their respective last tours. but i did manage to catch lamb last time they hist chicago...the only encore thus far to actually leave me in tears. powerful work.
posted by patricking at 12:38 PM on September 28, 2001

Bands I would like to see:

The North Mississippi Allstars

Wilco

Squirrel Nut Zippers
posted by bjgeiger at 12:39 PM on September 28, 2001

want/ed to see: kraftwerk.
saw, overrated: autechre.
most rocking show in the fucking world ever: the jesus lizard.
follow constantly: the librarians.
posted by fishfucker at 12:53 PM on September 28, 2001

Wish I'd seen: The Housemartins, The Jam, The Pogues (although I've seen them with Spider Stacey singing lead).

Favorite shows: Aztec Camera (did a great show as the opening act for Edie Brickell and New Bohemians, totally blowing them away), Barenaked Ladies (I'm not a huge fan but they did a great show), Billy Bragg, The Connells, El Vez (the best pure entertainer I've ever seen, described as "the most fun you can have with pants on"), Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, Squeeze, and U2 (15th row floor seats at RFK Stadium in DC for the Joshua Tree tour).

Oh, and I saw The Who's first farewell tour, in, what, 1983?, but they weren't that great.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:11 PM on September 28, 2001

Oh, and if anybody ever sees an upcoming "Eddie From Ohio" show on a marquee, go see it.

Don't argue, just go.
posted by bondcliff at 1:21 PM on September 28, 2001

And can you imagine what it would have been like to hear My Bloody Valentine's, Isn't Anything, Live

Rollercoaster tour, 1992. MBV, Blur, Dinosaur Jr., Jesus and Mary Chain. And yes, it was.

(Those of my friends who saw Jeff Buckley live were actually quite disappointed, surprisingly.)
posted by holgate at 1:32 PM on September 28, 2001

I wanted to go see Joe Jackson this past spring, but by the time they added the TicketMaster fee, the venue fee, and sales tax, the $25 ticket had nearly doubled in cost. WTF???

Imagine if it had been someone, like, popular. Guess it's gonna be a while before I see any more concerts.
posted by kindall at 3:45 PM on September 28, 2001

Nirvana- I said the morning they found Kurt, that I wanted to see them in concert really bad. (before I heard he was dead)
posted by andryeevna at 4:17 PM on September 28, 2001

They had King Crimson opening for them on the west coast. That would have been an amazing show.
posted by mich9139

Indeed it was. As a huge fan of both bands it was nice to see knuckleheads on both sides forcefully exposed to the other's music. Crimson-heads, look for a tune on the next album entitled "Level 5". They played it during the shows and it was truly one of the most mind-blowing songs I've ever heard them or anyone else perform.
posted by xochi at 4:21 PM on September 28, 2001

Einsturzende Neubauten. I'm willing to chip in to buy them a new jackhammer.
posted by Su at 4:21 PM on September 28, 2001

Seen just about everyone I'd like to except for the Rolling Stones.
I'd love to see Pearl Jam somewhere beside's the Bridge Benefit.
I saw the Damned the other night. They were great. Really! I too saw the Minutemen once. They opened up for P.I.L. And I saw the Meat Puppets within the past year. New line-up, but good as ever.
posted by culberjo at 4:38 PM on September 28, 2001

Biggest regret: Nirvana, Nirvana, Nirvana.

I live in the Haight-Ashbury, and I'm really sorry that I missed the glory days of the Dead and other bands of the '60s. (I'm only 23.)

Also, I regret not seeing live shows of Soundgarden, Pavement, Pixies, Sublime (though I did see Long Beach Dub Allstars, who just aren't the same), Soul Coughing and of course, Michael Jackson ...when he was COOL.

Fishfucker: My long-time best friend (Zev A.) happens to play drums for The Librarians. Small world, eh?
posted by Down10 at 4:43 PM on September 28, 2001

Tori Amos.... with band. Because I'm a giant ding-a-ling when it comes to getting concert tickets, I missed her the last two times she went through.

So, of course, I got tickets this time. When she's going solo, and all the crazy fans who think she's a fairy goddess will be there, swooning and singing along. I saw her solo in '94 (same venue, even) but you know, I'd just like to go to a concert where it's more about the music than Tori's ability to hump a piano bench.

Oh, and Ben Folds. Who is in town this weekend. :P
posted by fujikosmurf at 4:45 PM on September 28, 2001

I caught Air in the sky church at EMP in Seattle, which was amazing. I've seen Built to Spill twice and they were, and are, awe-inspiring.

Toad the Wet Sprocket was my first, with Huffamoose. Both were excellent.

Plus I have tickets for Tori Amos at a not-so-large venue in November.

Groups to see not mentioned above:
Godspeed you Black Emperor
Weezer
Fiona Apple
Voltaire
The Roots
posted by eschewed at 4:47 PM on September 28, 2001

nirvana.
posted by jcterminal at 4:57 PM on September 28, 2001

Pixies, Primus, and Jane's Addiction at Bill Graham Civic Center in San Francisco. Mind blowing. The pit just grew exponentially from band to band until Jane's...the entire floor became a pit.

Also, The Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Phoenix Theatre in Petaluma...right before "Mother's Milk" came out...playing all the "Mother's Milk" tunes at this TINY theatre. Mary's Danish opened.

U2's Joshua Tree tour kicked some mighty ass. Bummed to miss the opener Lone Justice though...I still have a massive crush on Maria McKee.

and eschewed? The Roots absolutely MADE Coachella this year...phenomenal band.
posted by xochi at 5:02 PM on September 28, 2001

Concrete Blonde. They broke up just as I was starting to dig them. But good news...they're reuniting for a WTC benefit in L.A. on Sunday. I am happy.
posted by Optamystic at 6:33 PM on September 28, 2001

I'd kill to see Les Savy Fav or The Nation Of Ulysses before they broke up. But then again, I was able to catch The Make Up.
posted by noisemartyr at 6:51 PM on September 28, 2001

Saw Joan Jett this spring at a lowly outdoor festival thingy. She rocked the joint so fiercely, I had to reacquaint myself with her music. Ended up buying one of her newer efforts "Fetish."

Wished I'd have seen before they split: Whiskeytown.
posted by sillygit at 7:11 PM on September 28, 2001

ani difranco.

last time when she came to cincinnati, i got dumped the week before, and i didn't have anyone to go with, and i really wasn't in the mood to be doing anything..

damnit, i wish i had gone anyway.
posted by lotsofno at 7:17 PM on September 28, 2001

BEN FOLDS FIVE!
And then they broke up, and the sounds of "Army" echoed through the silence.

And Ani. She came to town - twice. In the past year. And I've REFUSED TWICE to go. Damn things.
posted by GirlFriday at 7:27 PM on September 28, 2001

There are only a few shows that I really want to attend. I would like to see Poe, Foo Fighters, and Radiohead. I would like to see Depeche Mode and a few dozen other bands, but not as badly as the above three.

I would have enjoyed seeing U2 a few years ago but now I am not as enthused about it. I wish I could have gone to at least one Nirvana concert and one INXS concert before that became impossible. I also would have liked seeing Dave Matthews Band before Everyday came out since it is below par for them.

Really, the two concerts that I have to see are Poe and Foo Fighters. Not that they will ever be within a million miles of Northwest Arkansas, but perhaps I can do some traveling one of these days.

I have a hard time becoming excited about concerts because it is a brief experience that often costs as much as five or six CDs, the latter of which will be more meaningful to me in the long term. Well, also because I have horrible luck with concerts. I tried to see Tori Amos three times and never did make it. I caught some sort of nasty vomit-inducing virus that knocked me out of two of the Tori shows and bad luck forced me to miss at least five other concerts, including two U2 concerts. Concerts do not like me.
posted by bargle at 8:12 PM on September 28, 2001

I'm seeing Medeski Martin & Wood in Chicago tomorrow. I saw Weezer last weekend, and I have floor tickets to U2 in October. (!!!) Memorable concerts were Smashing Pumpkins (Infinite Sadness tour, in Syracuse, NY), which was underwhelming, but I was obsessed with them back in 8th grade; Beck at H.O.R.D.E. festival a few years ago; Mos Def; and Guster.

Musicians I really want to see: The Eels, Soul Coughing (but Doughty will suffice), Moby, Dave Matthews, and Bjork.
posted by ktheory at 9:41 PM on September 28, 2001

BEN FOLDS FIVE!

Have you heard Ben Fold's new album? If you haven't you should definately give it a listen.
posted by rift2001 at 10:04 PM on September 28, 2001

And Ben is touring the States RIGHT NOW. He hits Seattle the day before my birthday.
posted by kindall at 11:04 PM on September 28, 2001

I saw Ben Folds 5 at an open air concert and it was the wrong band for that venue...w/ their new music, they need to play in a concert hall. It was a summer of free concerts who were hard-rocking, bens fold was the closing act of the summer and it wa anti-climatic. Oh, and i just saw Godsmack at a huge lollapaluza (sp?) concert, and they KICKED ASS
posted by jmd82 at 1:07 AM on September 29, 2001

Black Sabbath, definitely. But not only that well-known Osbourne/Butler/Ward/Iommi lineup which of course was, and thanks to cd's still is, great but also Sabbs in '89 with Tony Martin on vocal.
I've never been given a chance to see them live, because last time they were here in Poland I was around sixteen so it was impossible for me to go to a big rock concert with tons of fans mincing around.
But Never Say Die...
posted by tomekb at 12:53 AM on September 30, 2001

Su: and Test Department, just one more time, please.(Manchester University blues)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:42 AM on September 30, 2001

I got to see Wire (I never thought that would happen) last year so now that leaves:

Killing Joke
The Clash
American Music Club
Jawbox...I could've seen what amounted to their last show in Seattle but decided I didn't wanna go to an all-ages venue-Agh! I'm so stupid!
posted by black8 at 6:44 AM on September 30, 2001

I got to see Wire (I never thought that would happen) last year so now that leaves:

Killing Joke
The Clash
American Music Club
Jawbox...I could've seen what amounted to their last show in Seattle but decided I didn't wanna go to an all-ages venue-Agh! I'm so stupid!
posted by black8 at 7:17 AM on September 30, 2001

black 8: i want to be you. I thought Wire had finished. I have a few of their records(John Peel still plays them on his weekday BBC Radio 1 show, RealAudio required)but never was able to catch them. Aren't they STILL ahead of everything else?

On the other hand I did see The Clash(disappointing)and Killing Joke(appointing)back in 1983 or something.
Wanna trade?
No, I thought not...
posted by MiguelCardoso at 7:25 AM on September 30, 2001

Miguel-I thought Wire was amazing! It wasn't a flashy production, they brought and set up their own gear. What was really cool is how they re-interpretated their songs from their more electronic stuff as guitar rock. I was really impressed. The band even hung out and signed autographs before the show!
I have a disc from the tour-I'd be happy to send you a copy!
posted by black8 at 7:31 AM on September 30, 2001

I just returned from the first concert of a newly reunited Concrete Blonde. Absolutely amazing. It was a WTC benefit with quite a few bands, but The Blonde commanded the stage. Johnette Napolitano was wonderful. So sweet and humble and happy to be hearing applause after 10 years on hiatus. I feel so lucky to have been there. I'm still so excited about it. Sorry to bore ya'll with it, but I had to tell someone, like, now.
posted by Optamystic at 2:04 AM on October 1, 2001

Hey, black8, now I really wish I was you. Isn't it amazing that, no matter how jaded and seen-it-all we are, simple goodness and generosity such as yours never fail to break us up? Give that copy to someone who doesn't know what they're missing. Bless you.
And Optamystic: I'm sure a lot of people truly enjoy capsule reviews, specially of otherwise lost live performances. It's truly thrilling when it's of the "I just returned" variety. Metafilter should have more of these instant reviews. I love them and pass them on, so they're definitely worth posting.

(I also thought that Concrete Blonde had finished... So you can see, with black8's revelation, just how much I learned, and was heartened to learn, on this thread alone!)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 2:53 AM on October 1, 2001