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October 24, 2023 11:33 AM Subscribe
Are you a music lover? Are you a live music lover? Tell us about your experiences! What was your first concert? Have you ever played (or helped a band play) live? How many shows have you been to over the years? And which ones stick most in your mind, whether recorded or seen in person?
I can ever remember if self-linking is permitted in threads like this, but funnily enough I recent wrote about the time A Northern Chorus gave me a metaphorical aneurysm, which qualifies as the concert that most sticks in my mind.
posted by bixfrankonis at 11:48 AM on October 24, 2023
posted by bixfrankonis at 11:48 AM on October 24, 2023
Best concert I've ever seen was Barry Manilow on his Paradise Cafe tour way back in the early Eighties. I've been to hundreds of shows since then, but that one had this connection with the audience that was above and beyond anything else I've ever been to.
Saw Peter Gabriel on his current tour a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't a life-changing concert, but it was really ballsy of him [22 songs, 11 of them off the new album], and it completed the set for me, having seen Steve Hackett as a member of Asia many years ago and then seen Genesis on their final tour, so with Gabriel now I have the full set of Original Genesis Members. Sadly not all at once.
Most intense "this audience is all one" moment was seeing U2 on their 360° tour in Phoenix. 92,000 people in the audience, and when the band started I Still Having Found What I'm Looking For, Bono stepped forward to sing but the audience sort of took over and sang the entire first verse and chorus for him instead. 90K people singing in unison is a bit of a moment.
And my next concert will be U2 at the Sphere in December. I'm glad to see them well enough into the run that they will have worked out the bugs and refined it to what they want it to be. Also, glad to be getting into this venue before the inevitable wear and tear of Existing In Las Vegas will degrade the experience.
I'm sad to have missed out on Indigo Girls' tour this time around. But I'm sure by their next round, I will be up to it. Or maybe I'll go to NYC to see Emily's show on Broadway.
posted by hippybear at 11:51 AM on October 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
Saw Peter Gabriel on his current tour a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't a life-changing concert, but it was really ballsy of him [22 songs, 11 of them off the new album], and it completed the set for me, having seen Steve Hackett as a member of Asia many years ago and then seen Genesis on their final tour, so with Gabriel now I have the full set of Original Genesis Members. Sadly not all at once.
Most intense "this audience is all one" moment was seeing U2 on their 360° tour in Phoenix. 92,000 people in the audience, and when the band started I Still Having Found What I'm Looking For, Bono stepped forward to sing but the audience sort of took over and sang the entire first verse and chorus for him instead. 90K people singing in unison is a bit of a moment.
And my next concert will be U2 at the Sphere in December. I'm glad to see them well enough into the run that they will have worked out the bugs and refined it to what they want it to be. Also, glad to be getting into this venue before the inevitable wear and tear of Existing In Las Vegas will degrade the experience.
I'm sad to have missed out on Indigo Girls' tour this time around. But I'm sure by their next round, I will be up to it. Or maybe I'll go to NYC to see Emily's show on Broadway.
posted by hippybear at 11:51 AM on October 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
The first gig I went to unsupervised was Pink Floyd at Earl's Court in London, me and a best mate. We were only just 16, and went on a coach all the way down the M1 on our own, no responsible adults, no mobile phones (no way I'd let my kid do that now). They played Dark Side Of The Moon all the way through. I thought of it as a really old record even then, it came out years before I was born, it was over twenty years old, practically prehistoric!
That gig is now nearly 150% further away in time from me now than DSotM was from me then. Yikes, time is scary.
posted by tomsk at 12:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
That gig is now nearly 150% further away in time from me now than DSotM was from me then. Yikes, time is scary.
posted by tomsk at 12:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Some memorable shows I have attended:
posted by wicked_sassy at 12:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
- Sufjan Stevens for the Carrie and Lowell album tour at the DAR Constitution Hall in DC
- Bon Iver (first row!) at a huge amphitheater in suburban Maryland
- Carolina Chocolate Drops at the 9:30 Club in DC: they performed a Scottish Gaelic song (here's a video from a different performance) and played the bones
- Smashing Pumpkins at an enormous Chicago arena before they disbanded in the early 2000s
- Beth Orton at the U Street Music Hall in DC (RIP, that tiny venue); I met her afterwards and she was so lovely
- Rufus and Martha Wainwright with their mom Kate McGarrigle during the Ann Arbor Folk Music Festival
- Bikini Kill at a little bar in Albuquerque
- Kronos Quartet at the Kennedy Center in DC
- Sasha and Digweed at Heaven, a gay superclub in London
- Janelle Monáe for the Dirty Computer album tour in DC
- Artists I've seen multiple times: Patti Smith; Lucinda Williams; Ani DiFranco; Willie Nelson; Neko Case
posted by wicked_sassy at 12:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
First show I can distinctly remember was Hall & Oates at the Orange County Convention Center in 1983. Really it was a show that my sister wanted to go to with her friends, but my mom took us all.
I don't remember much about the show, but I remember the aftermath. We were walking back to the car and my mom told my sister to keep an eye on me, but what teen big sister wants to keep an eye on her tween little brother when they'd rather be hanging out with their friends? So.... she told me to go back to our car and wait for everyone. I did.
(Now she swears on every holy book known to humanity that she did no such thing and that I just wandered off. I think we know better. :) )
I walked back to our truck and sat on the hood, waiting and waiting. Turns out that the family couldn't find me. My mom did what a mom will do and hit the panic button. (much less organized back in 1983 than now). I was finally found by a mounted Orange County Sheriff who clopped over to the Suburban and asked me my name and informed me that I was missing! (Remember this is just post Adam Walsh's disappearance in South Florida, so lots of angst)
I don't remember much about the show, but I remember the aftermath. We were walking back to the car and my mom told my sister to keep an eye on me, but what teen big sister wants to keep an eye on her tween little brother when they'd rather be hanging out with their friends? So.... she told me to go back to our car and wait for everyone. I did.
(Now she swears on every holy book known to humanity that she did no such thing and that I just wandered off. I think we know better. :) )
I walked back to our truck and sat on the hood, waiting and waiting. Turns out that the family couldn't find me. My mom did what a mom will do and hit the panic button. (much less organized back in 1983 than now). I was finally found by a mounted Orange County Sheriff who clopped over to the Suburban and asked me my name and informed me that I was missing! (Remember this is just post Adam Walsh's disappearance in South Florida, so lots of angst)
- Best concert experience was the time I randomly got a free ticket to go see Galactic at the Anson Food and was blown away by their performance.
- Best "holy crap the energy in this place is about to explode" was also Galactic a little bit later at the House of Blues Sunset when their encore set made people lose their damn minds.
- Best "this dude is a hard working performer" - Huey Lewis and the News - Microsoft Theater in LA. Sweated his ass off and made everyone hop
- Best Concert Moment That Wasn't Mine - Going to see Chris Isaak at the Fox Theater and having him bringing my wife up on stage to serenade her. He could have taken her from me and I couldn't even really be mad about it
- Funniest Concert Moment That Was Mine - See Camper Van B at Bonaroo and they announced that half the set would be Camper and the other half Cracker and we'd know when they switched. The switch? Taking the Camper logo off the bass drum to show a Cracker logo
- Whoa Moment - Working a charity event for the Friends of the LA River and standing 10 feet from Moby as he was wailing on a guitar
- Unexpected Concert Moment - Sitting in my backyard with a cocktail and my wife and suddenly hearing the opening to "Where the Streets Have No Name" echoing off the mountains. We sat in the backyard and listened to a Nemo Dreamscapes version of Joshua Tree as U2 played at the Rose Bowl.
Embarrassingly my first concert experience that wasn't a classical music concert was Donnie And Marie. I had to BEG my father to go, and the seats he got for us were to the side of the stage. So far to the side and so high up that we watched the show basically through the rigging for the lighting.
I don't remember it being a good show. I do remember it being thrilling to see these people performing live in front of me. How much of it was live and how much of it was tracking, I have no idea. I was quite young.
posted by hippybear at 12:14 PM on October 24, 2023
I don't remember it being a good show. I do remember it being thrilling to see these people performing live in front of me. How much of it was live and how much of it was tracking, I have no idea. I was quite young.
posted by hippybear at 12:14 PM on October 24, 2023
And I'll say, I remember going to RUSH concerts and seeing three generations of a family sitting together for the show. And my family, my parents, this is beyond unimaginable for me. Getting my father to take me to Donnie And Marie was huge. The only other concert of such a sort he and I ever attended together was Linda Ronstadt for her Cry/Howl tour with the Neville Brothers opening and then being her band with Aaron heavily featured during her half of the show.
My parents didn't share any contemporary musical interests with me. And I look at these families that have parents of children who also now have children and they're all going to see RUSH together and enjoying it??? That is an experience so alien to my experience that I appreciate it like I might Christmas Traditions from the Tudor era. I wish my family had been better.
posted by hippybear at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
My parents didn't share any contemporary musical interests with me. And I look at these families that have parents of children who also now have children and they're all going to see RUSH together and enjoying it??? That is an experience so alien to my experience that I appreciate it like I might Christmas Traditions from the Tudor era. I wish my family had been better.
posted by hippybear at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
I drove ~500 miles to see Peter Mulvey play 4 songs on the back of a flatbed truck in 100+ Fahrenheit weather... Probably one of the best versions of Rapture that I'd ever seen. He also did a Prince cover, Gasoline (which was wicked old by that point), and Deep Blue. I'm trying to recall who else played that day, I think Chris Smither also played
Regina Spektor with Rufus Wainright at the Wang was a pretty impressive concert. Rufus was a little too loud for the theatre, full distortion, over-mic'ed but he was engaging. Regina Spektor was awesome. It was also one of the first concerts I went to with my wife, so... that was a plus. We were supposed to go to Damien Rice like two weeks later, but I think we got stuck in traffic, would have been late and just settled for a 3 hour dinner and conversation - best waste of concert tickets I ever had.
I did photography for the Offspring when they played the Palladium in Worcester - real neat theatre, probably one of the neatest levels of access to a facility and a band. Did something similar for Live. Comparatively, they were a bag of dicks.
Michael Franti played Lowell summer music series a few years ago and it rained, forcing the concert into the high school across the street. I kid you not, he was within an arms reach of *every single person* at some point during the night. That man moves with a guy that just works the spotlight for him and both of them ran throughout the entire theatre space.
Saw U2 and Rage Against the Machine... probably the biggest 'single-ish' act stadium show that I've ever seen. The spectacle of U2 at the time was amazing, but Rage's energy was what made it for me...
Early Lallapalooza was... eye opening... might be confusing this with Horde - dunno... I saw both in the same time period and they blend together for me. Phish, Blues Traveler, and a host of bands that just kind of stuck with me for years. I followed Phish for 5 nights when I was in high school - not normally my scene, but the music and the variation in the shows was just - wow!
And then there's the Tragically Hip... easily the best show that I've ever seen... Drove to Montreal, just ... it was an experience to see them before Grace... just... wow.
And now I have kids.
posted by Nanukthedog at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Regina Spektor with Rufus Wainright at the Wang was a pretty impressive concert. Rufus was a little too loud for the theatre, full distortion, over-mic'ed but he was engaging. Regina Spektor was awesome. It was also one of the first concerts I went to with my wife, so... that was a plus. We were supposed to go to Damien Rice like two weeks later, but I think we got stuck in traffic, would have been late and just settled for a 3 hour dinner and conversation - best waste of concert tickets I ever had.
I did photography for the Offspring when they played the Palladium in Worcester - real neat theatre, probably one of the neatest levels of access to a facility and a band. Did something similar for Live. Comparatively, they were a bag of dicks.
Michael Franti played Lowell summer music series a few years ago and it rained, forcing the concert into the high school across the street. I kid you not, he was within an arms reach of *every single person* at some point during the night. That man moves with a guy that just works the spotlight for him and both of them ran throughout the entire theatre space.
Saw U2 and Rage Against the Machine... probably the biggest 'single-ish' act stadium show that I've ever seen. The spectacle of U2 at the time was amazing, but Rage's energy was what made it for me...
Early Lallapalooza was... eye opening... might be confusing this with Horde - dunno... I saw both in the same time period and they blend together for me. Phish, Blues Traveler, and a host of bands that just kind of stuck with me for years. I followed Phish for 5 nights when I was in high school - not normally my scene, but the music and the variation in the shows was just - wow!
And then there's the Tragically Hip... easily the best show that I've ever seen... Drove to Montreal, just ... it was an experience to see them before Grace... just... wow.
And now I have kids.
posted by Nanukthedog at 12:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
My first concert was Styx, supporting their "Kilroy Was Here" album, at the now-long-defunct Capital Centre in Greenbelt, MD. It was the summer right after I turned 16, and I'd won tickets off the radio. I couldn't drive and I knew my best friend Mike was a big Styx fan, so he and I went. The show blew my mind - people have often said that Dennis DeYoung really just wanted to be on Broadway and the concert pretty much just played like a musical.
Weirdest show I ever went to - took my then-girlfriend to see one of her favorite bands, Queensrÿche, and the opening act was Suicidal Tendencies. It felt like the entire audience swapped out between the opener and the main act.
Best "hype the crowd" energy would probably be the time I saw Gogol Bordello open for Flogging Molly at a bar in Baltimore. Those two bands together generated enough energy to power the city for the next few years, I'm sure.
posted by hanov3r at 12:30 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Weirdest show I ever went to - took my then-girlfriend to see one of her favorite bands, Queensrÿche, and the opening act was Suicidal Tendencies. It felt like the entire audience swapped out between the opener and the main act.
Best "hype the crowd" energy would probably be the time I saw Gogol Bordello open for Flogging Molly at a bar in Baltimore. Those two bands together generated enough energy to power the city for the next few years, I'm sure.
posted by hanov3r at 12:30 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
My first concert was Bryan Adams with The Hooters opening (and the Hooters turned out to be much better, at least to 1987-era me).
Best concert: David Byrne. The best example of a raucous crowd totally elevating the whole experience.
Best Bucket List entry: a-ha. They played in Napa last year, we’re damn great and I knew every word of their first album , which they played in its entirety. Second Bucket List entry: Weird Al Yankovic, also last year, mostly playing his originals and a killer rendition of Tom Petty’s Refugee.
Notable shows: Barenaked Ladies put on a marathon of a show. They Might Be Giants were great. I have mixed feelings about him now but Morrissey played a fairly intimate show near my hometown and had a killer opening act (Elcka).
Best festival: Live 105’s BFD concert with The Cure headlining, supported by Social Distortion, Blur, and Erasure. If I weren’t running late that night, I would have caught Toad The Wet Sprocket and Echo and the Bunnymen. I was lucky to pry myself away from work.
posted by Eikonaut at 12:31 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best concert: David Byrne. The best example of a raucous crowd totally elevating the whole experience.
Best Bucket List entry: a-ha. They played in Napa last year, we’re damn great and I knew every word of their first album , which they played in its entirety. Second Bucket List entry: Weird Al Yankovic, also last year, mostly playing his originals and a killer rendition of Tom Petty’s Refugee.
Notable shows: Barenaked Ladies put on a marathon of a show. They Might Be Giants were great. I have mixed feelings about him now but Morrissey played a fairly intimate show near my hometown and had a killer opening act (Elcka).
Best festival: Live 105’s BFD concert with The Cure headlining, supported by Social Distortion, Blur, and Erasure. If I weren’t running late that night, I would have caught Toad The Wet Sprocket and Echo and the Bunnymen. I was lucky to pry myself away from work.
posted by Eikonaut at 12:31 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
What was your first concert?
1974 - Frank Zappa and The Mothers - “10 Years of The Mothers” tour.
And which ones stick most in your mind...
The Ramones live. It was a non-stop audio buzzsaw. Amazing. The band live was nothing at all like their records. Just gloriously loud and fast.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:32 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
1974 - Frank Zappa and The Mothers - “10 Years of The Mothers” tour.
And which ones stick most in your mind...
The Ramones live. It was a non-stop audio buzzsaw. Amazing. The band live was nothing at all like their records. Just gloriously loud and fast.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:32 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'm in a Black Flag cover band! First show was the Animals at the Beacon Theater in NYC in 1983.
Some notable shows:
1. The Replacements at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago in early '86 -- it's the show included on the remastered Tim release.
2. Diamanda Galas, Body Count and the Butthole Surfers in 1992 or so.
3. GG Allin's finale in 1993.
4. Any of the 50 or so Mudhoney shows I've seen.
5. MC5 in 2005 -- only time I've heard them do Black to Comm.
6. Jandek in 2005 -- never thought it'd come to pass.
7. Eugene Chadbourne w/Camper van Beethoven, when everyone on stage was playing a rake.
8. Garagefest on Randall's Island in 2004 -- stooges, New York Dolls and a whole mess of others -- we called it our Woodstock.
posted by AJaffe at 12:33 PM on October 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
Some notable shows:
1. The Replacements at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago in early '86 -- it's the show included on the remastered Tim release.
2. Diamanda Galas, Body Count and the Butthole Surfers in 1992 or so.
3. GG Allin's finale in 1993.
4. Any of the 50 or so Mudhoney shows I've seen.
5. MC5 in 2005 -- only time I've heard them do Black to Comm.
6. Jandek in 2005 -- never thought it'd come to pass.
7. Eugene Chadbourne w/Camper van Beethoven, when everyone on stage was playing a rake.
8. Garagefest on Randall's Island in 2004 -- stooges, New York Dolls and a whole mess of others -- we called it our Woodstock.
posted by AJaffe at 12:33 PM on October 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
And I'll say, I remember going to RUSH concerts and seeing three generations of a family sitting together for the show
Rush was my first concert. Chris and I worked the grill together at McDonald's and he had an extra ticket to the Power Windows tour. 15,000 people standing on their chairs air-drumming along with Neil. That was pretty great.
Best show was The Replacements, 8/7/87 at the Riv in Chicago. It was a hot sweaty free-for-all and I had no idea what was going on half the time. Probably because I was underaged and my companion Goon (a nickname, but apropos) got us beer at a specific store known to sell 6-packs to kids. The band launched into a cover of Gimme Shelter and it felt like the world was ending.
I was also there when the Mats broke up four years later (7/4/91), once again under the influence and stumbling out of Grant Park while the roadies were finishing the show.
on preview - fistbump to AJaffe
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:34 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Rush was my first concert. Chris and I worked the grill together at McDonald's and he had an extra ticket to the Power Windows tour. 15,000 people standing on their chairs air-drumming along with Neil. That was pretty great.
Best show was The Replacements, 8/7/87 at the Riv in Chicago. It was a hot sweaty free-for-all and I had no idea what was going on half the time. Probably because I was underaged and my companion Goon (a nickname, but apropos) got us beer at a specific store known to sell 6-packs to kids. The band launched into a cover of Gimme Shelter and it felt like the world was ending.
I was also there when the Mats broke up four years later (7/4/91), once again under the influence and stumbling out of Grant Park while the roadies were finishing the show.
on preview - fistbump to AJaffe
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:34 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
David Byrne's American Utopia in 2018: best show ever. It was magical.
posted by elmono at 12:36 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by elmono at 12:36 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
JoeZydeco -- I was at the Riv Mats show, too!
posted by AJaffe at 12:37 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by AJaffe at 12:37 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
The two concerts that stand out in my mind were the Flecktones around the time UFO Tofu came out, and Al DiMeola touring for his new Tiramisu album. In both cases, all the musicians were relaxed, outstandingly proficient, and looked like they were having SO MUCH FUN onstage. That really came through in the music too.
On the other hand, Allan Holdsworth put on an amazing show but had no stage presence whatever - he just stood there mostly staring down at his guitar while casually tearing off amazing lick after amazing lick. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good show, just not an "enthusiastic" one.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:38 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
On the other hand, Allan Holdsworth put on an amazing show but had no stage presence whatever - he just stood there mostly staring down at his guitar while casually tearing off amazing lick after amazing lick. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good show, just not an "enthusiastic" one.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:38 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First show: My parents took me along to see Jimmy Buffet at six flags.
Mom's first show because she pulls this ace out everytime the topic comes up: Beatles at Red Rocks
Last show: Mo Lowda and the Humble at Johnny Brenda's. Bluesy rock worth a listen if that's music you'd like.
posted by cmfletcher at 12:41 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Mom's first show because she pulls this ace out everytime the topic comes up: Beatles at Red Rocks
Last show: Mo Lowda and the Humble at Johnny Brenda's. Bluesy rock worth a listen if that's music you'd like.
posted by cmfletcher at 12:41 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have not made it a secret here that I am a big, unapologetic fan of the band Phish. I got back into them in 2019 and have been seeing them regularly ever since. My wife is not much of a fan, she can appreciate that they're Good At Music and can tolerate an album track or two but the jams and the scene are very much not her thing. She is, however, supportive of my fandom and encourages me to go see them whenever I can.
My latest trip was a three night run in Chicago a couple weeks ago. They played the United Center for the first time, opening their Friday the 13th show with the theme to the Friday the 13th movies (recorded) and proceeding to play a set with a lot of dark, spooky songs. The three nights were amazing and I almost didn't go but I'm very glad I did.
My next trip will be a four night run at Madison Square Garden in New York over New Years Eve. Their NYE shows are legendary, they have an amazing creative team and always pull off some sort of giant production. Nobody knows what it will be until it begins. A couple years ago their (postponed due to Covid) NYE show in April had full sized dolphins and a whale swimming around Madison Square Garden. Aside from maybe Zion canyon and my child being born, it may have been the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
Seeing them around the country has given me the chance to see cities I may normally not get to see. I've seen them in NYC, Long Island, Las Vegas, Chicago, Indianapolis, Hershey PA, Los Angeles, Bangor Maine, and of course locally here in Massachusetts. Nine states so far.
One of my most favorite things is the community. I know Phish fans have a reputation of being stoner dirtbags but that is most certainly not the case. Every show I go to I sit down, introduce myself to my neighbors and spend the show (or shows, if I have a multi-night pass in the same seat) hanging with fun, like-minded people. At last year's New Years Eve run I sat down next to a woman, said hello, and knew right away she was going to be a friend for life. We sat next to each other for those four nights and had a blast, along with our other neighbors. We saw each other in July and I'll see her every time I go to NYC. It's very much like Metafilter. "Hey, you like a thing that I also like. That means we are friends now."
Back in April I was in Los Angeles for a three night run at the Hollywood Bowl. I was walking down Hollywood Boulevard and approached two guys who were sitting on a stoop who were clearly Phish fans. As I passed one of them said "hey, are you bondcliff?" Long story short, it was a guy who followed me on Twitter (and I think here... Hi Mike!) who recognized me. We got to chatting and went for lunch together. Community.
I know their fans can be insufferable and their music sometimes gets... uh.. let's say weird, but you must trust me when I tell you this is a special band with a special community. I'm just a normal middle aged dad who doesn't do much in the way of drugs or drink. I do not have dreadlocks and I bathe most days. Most of the fans are just like me. Just regular people who somehow get it... like those people in Close Encounters who were all mysteriously drawn to Devil's Tower.
I have taken more than one MeFite to their first show. I have yet to take someone to a show show who didn't have a great time, except for maybe my wife, who went with me back around 1997 and yet still married me.
If you're a fan, and I know at least a few of you are, drop me a note. Maybe we can hang out at a show some day.
posted by bondcliff at 12:42 PM on October 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
My latest trip was a three night run in Chicago a couple weeks ago. They played the United Center for the first time, opening their Friday the 13th show with the theme to the Friday the 13th movies (recorded) and proceeding to play a set with a lot of dark, spooky songs. The three nights were amazing and I almost didn't go but I'm very glad I did.
My next trip will be a four night run at Madison Square Garden in New York over New Years Eve. Their NYE shows are legendary, they have an amazing creative team and always pull off some sort of giant production. Nobody knows what it will be until it begins. A couple years ago their (postponed due to Covid) NYE show in April had full sized dolphins and a whale swimming around Madison Square Garden. Aside from maybe Zion canyon and my child being born, it may have been the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
Seeing them around the country has given me the chance to see cities I may normally not get to see. I've seen them in NYC, Long Island, Las Vegas, Chicago, Indianapolis, Hershey PA, Los Angeles, Bangor Maine, and of course locally here in Massachusetts. Nine states so far.
One of my most favorite things is the community. I know Phish fans have a reputation of being stoner dirtbags but that is most certainly not the case. Every show I go to I sit down, introduce myself to my neighbors and spend the show (or shows, if I have a multi-night pass in the same seat) hanging with fun, like-minded people. At last year's New Years Eve run I sat down next to a woman, said hello, and knew right away she was going to be a friend for life. We sat next to each other for those four nights and had a blast, along with our other neighbors. We saw each other in July and I'll see her every time I go to NYC. It's very much like Metafilter. "Hey, you like a thing that I also like. That means we are friends now."
Back in April I was in Los Angeles for a three night run at the Hollywood Bowl. I was walking down Hollywood Boulevard and approached two guys who were sitting on a stoop who were clearly Phish fans. As I passed one of them said "hey, are you bondcliff?" Long story short, it was a guy who followed me on Twitter (and I think here... Hi Mike!) who recognized me. We got to chatting and went for lunch together. Community.
I know their fans can be insufferable and their music sometimes gets... uh.. let's say weird, but you must trust me when I tell you this is a special band with a special community. I'm just a normal middle aged dad who doesn't do much in the way of drugs or drink. I do not have dreadlocks and I bathe most days. Most of the fans are just like me. Just regular people who somehow get it... like those people in Close Encounters who were all mysteriously drawn to Devil's Tower.
I have taken more than one MeFite to their first show. I have yet to take someone to a show show who didn't have a great time, except for maybe my wife, who went with me back around 1997 and yet still married me.
If you're a fan, and I know at least a few of you are, drop me a note. Maybe we can hang out at a show some day.
posted by bondcliff at 12:42 PM on October 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
My first concert was The Country Gentlemen in 1978. Blew my young mind, completely.
Since then I’ve seen (in no particular order):
Add N to X, Hovercraft, The Violent Femmes, the B-52s, Queen Latifah, The Beastie Boys, Paul Simon (in Central Park), Sun Ra, Lou Reed (booooooo!), Death Cab for Cutie (opened for my band, lol!), Lucinda Williams, B’net Houriyat, Ceux que Marchant Debut, an absolute boatload of electronic/IDM acts, even more Cajun/zydeco..
BUT
The best band I’ve ever seen live (three times!) was Morphine.
posted by chronkite at 12:43 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Since then I’ve seen (in no particular order):
Add N to X, Hovercraft, The Violent Femmes, the B-52s, Queen Latifah, The Beastie Boys, Paul Simon (in Central Park), Sun Ra, Lou Reed (booooooo!), Death Cab for Cutie (opened for my band, lol!), Lucinda Williams, B’net Houriyat, Ceux que Marchant Debut, an absolute boatload of electronic/IDM acts, even more Cajun/zydeco..
BUT
The best band I’ve ever seen live (three times!) was Morphine.
posted by chronkite at 12:43 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First concert was Rush, October 10 1977, with Max Webster and Ian Thomas as the opening acts (ticket was $4.50!). Funny thing...I am going to see Pink Floyd tribute band Brit Floyd tonight, in the same venue that Rush played; and the same place I saw Pink Floyd in 1987 (they played the outside stadium).
Best wow moment...reluctantly (by that I mean girlfriend, now wife, wanted to go) went to see Flock of Seagulls; very pleasantly surprised when the opening act came out...The Fixx!
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 12:46 PM on October 24, 2023
Best wow moment...reluctantly (by that I mean girlfriend, now wife, wanted to go) went to see Flock of Seagulls; very pleasantly surprised when the opening act came out...The Fixx!
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 12:46 PM on October 24, 2023
My first concert was Cheap Trick, 1980, Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.
I have gotten to see many legends, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan with the Dead. Wish I had gotten to see Tom Petty and Prince. The Suburbs used to play at my college a couple of times a year, that was pretty cool. Saw The Police twice, Gang of Four once, (my ears still may be ringing from that one), Pavement once, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks a couple of times. Uncle Bonsai at the zoo!
Last show was Built to Spill pre-pandemic doing Keep it Like a Secret. Was great, (even though my wallet disappeared at some point that night).
Certainly have seen the Grateful Dead more than anyone else. Wish I could again... (RIP Jerry and Brent).
Never did a "show" per se, (not counting my choral career, (1981 Kansas State Choir), our Bruckner's Ave Maria still makes me tear up), but way back in the 80s a friend and I did some open mikes down in Ashland. He could play, and I could sing. Think I still have it on a cassette tape. I may be 60, but I am still holding out hope for my future career. And I still can't play, and my voice is getting a bit sketchy...
Live music is just so loud, moving, and cool.
posted by Windopaene at 12:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have gotten to see many legends, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan with the Dead. Wish I had gotten to see Tom Petty and Prince. The Suburbs used to play at my college a couple of times a year, that was pretty cool. Saw The Police twice, Gang of Four once, (my ears still may be ringing from that one), Pavement once, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks a couple of times. Uncle Bonsai at the zoo!
Last show was Built to Spill pre-pandemic doing Keep it Like a Secret. Was great, (even though my wallet disappeared at some point that night).
Certainly have seen the Grateful Dead more than anyone else. Wish I could again... (RIP Jerry and Brent).
Never did a "show" per se, (not counting my choral career, (1981 Kansas State Choir), our Bruckner's Ave Maria still makes me tear up), but way back in the 80s a friend and I did some open mikes down in Ashland. He could play, and I could sing. Think I still have it on a cassette tape. I may be 60, but I am still holding out hope for my future career. And I still can't play, and my voice is getting a bit sketchy...
Live music is just so loud, moving, and cool.
posted by Windopaene at 12:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
The worst concert I ever went to was They Might Be Giants at Mohegan Sun. I had never been to an actual casino before, and it sucked. The concert "venue" was a stage and some seating in the middle of a room full of slot machines. Everyone was smoking or drinking indoors. I sat next to a middle-aged couple who didn't even know or care who was playing as long as they had table service and who left in the middle of the set after loudly expressing how bored they were. After the show (which was enjoyable because TMBG) I came to the horrible conclusion that because I hadn't ordered any alcohol, I had effectively stiffed the wait staff out of a tip. I spent an hour and a half in traffic ruminating on that while trying to leave the parking garage because you have to drive all the way to the top in order to exit. And then I made a wrong turn leaving Uncasville and ended up on I-395 North which was pitch dark and I couldn't believe still used those little rivet reflectors on all the highway signs instead of modern reflective coatings. I've never been so happy to make it to the Mass Pike because Connecticut is just such a terrible and godforsaken state.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 12:48 PM on October 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by RonButNotStupid at 12:48 PM on October 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
The first concert I ever went to, I was about 17 (small town kid, not a lot of money to get to the Big City) and I went to see Skinny Puppy on their Too Dark Park tour, and honestly it ruined concerts for me pretty much forever. Skinny Puppy at the peak of their powers put on a show and a half -- costumes, makeup, video walls, effects, all designed for maximum shock, gore, and disturbance. A seething mosh pit. Apocalyptic, ear-splitting sound.
Nothing has ever compared. It's like having the first meal you remember being six Thanksgiving dinners ground up in a food processor and blasted into your face with a fire hose. Other concerts may have been more musically proficient, or technically sound, or poetically structured, but the sheer absolute intensity has made every live music experience since all feel a bit low-energy.
And yes, I've seen GWAR.
posted by Shepherd at 12:49 PM on October 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
Nothing has ever compared. It's like having the first meal you remember being six Thanksgiving dinners ground up in a food processor and blasted into your face with a fire hose. Other concerts may have been more musically proficient, or technically sound, or poetically structured, but the sheer absolute intensity has made every live music experience since all feel a bit low-energy.
And yes, I've seen GWAR.
posted by Shepherd at 12:49 PM on October 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
I believe my first concert was Peter Paul & Mary as a ~7 year old, and I love that fact about myself. :)
posted by obfuscation at 12:50 PM on October 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by obfuscation at 12:50 PM on October 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
It's not that I don't like live music, but I am generally not a fan of those big shows. I don't like the crowd thing. So it isn't surprising that my best big concert experience was when my sister somehow got us VIP tickets to one of the last Prince concerts, where I also saw Janelle Monáe for the first time.
Among smaller things at more local venues, it's hard for me to choose. The best nights have been jazz nights, in my experience. I enjoy improvisation and a relaxed atmosphere. This is actually extra weird because I arranged concerts for a few years ages ago. Life is strange.
posted by mumimor at 12:52 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Among smaller things at more local venues, it's hard for me to choose. The best nights have been jazz nights, in my experience. I enjoy improvisation and a relaxed atmosphere. This is actually extra weird because I arranged concerts for a few years ages ago. Life is strange.
posted by mumimor at 12:52 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Two standout festivals:
H.O.R.D.E in 1996 with, and this was ridiculous... Blues Traveler; Taj Mahal; Dave Matthews Band; Leftover Salmon; Lenny Kravitz; Medeski, Martin & Wood; Rickie Lee Jones; super 8; and Rusted Root.
Lilith Fair in 1997 with Erykah Badu, Sheryl Crow, N'Dea Davenport, Indigo Girls, K's Choice, Angelique Kids, Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, and others.
posted by hippybear at 12:53 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
H.O.R.D.E in 1996 with, and this was ridiculous... Blues Traveler; Taj Mahal; Dave Matthews Band; Leftover Salmon; Lenny Kravitz; Medeski, Martin & Wood; Rickie Lee Jones; super 8; and Rusted Root.
Lilith Fair in 1997 with Erykah Badu, Sheryl Crow, N'Dea Davenport, Indigo Girls, K's Choice, Angelique Kids, Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, and others.
posted by hippybear at 12:53 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
From the late 1960s through about 1999, Austin was known as a live-music town. (Emphasis "was". Those days are long gone, alas.)
In my opinion, peak Austin was from around 1978 through 1984. Austin had (in retrospect) a literally astounding local live music scene. And all the cool touring bands played here as well. I don't think it would be an exaggeration for me to say that I went to very likely over 1,000 live-music shows during that time (and played in quite a few gigs myself). That's a thousand shows in one town. Yup. That was old Austin.
It would be impossible for me to pick a favorite out of all those shows, but the one that sprang immediately to mind when I saw this post was the very first one that I saw right after I had moved to Austin in 1979: Talking Heads and B-52s at The AWHQ. It left quite an impression on young me.
posted by smcdow at 12:53 PM on October 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
In my opinion, peak Austin was from around 1978 through 1984. Austin had (in retrospect) a literally astounding local live music scene. And all the cool touring bands played here as well. I don't think it would be an exaggeration for me to say that I went to very likely over 1,000 live-music shows during that time (and played in quite a few gigs myself). That's a thousand shows in one town. Yup. That was old Austin.
It would be impossible for me to pick a favorite out of all those shows, but the one that sprang immediately to mind when I saw this post was the very first one that I saw right after I had moved to Austin in 1979: Talking Heads and B-52s at The AWHQ. It left quite an impression on young me.
posted by smcdow at 12:53 PM on October 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
Seems like a dream now, but I was at this show where R.E.M. played Driver 8 for the first time.
Now understand, this was like a year before Driver 8 even appeared on vinyl. Typically, when a band is playing a song I'm not familiar with, it was time to zone out or joke around with your friends. Not this time. Did you ever get goosebumps hearing a song for the first time? The sensation of deja vu, where you'd swear you already knew the song... like it had always existed?
At the time, most of my friends were listening to the big AOR bands. So exquisite over the years to watch the rest of the world discover a band I loved so much.
posted by superelastic at 12:59 PM on October 24, 2023 [13 favorites]
Now understand, this was like a year before Driver 8 even appeared on vinyl. Typically, when a band is playing a song I'm not familiar with, it was time to zone out or joke around with your friends. Not this time. Did you ever get goosebumps hearing a song for the first time? The sensation of deja vu, where you'd swear you already knew the song... like it had always existed?
At the time, most of my friends were listening to the big AOR bands. So exquisite over the years to watch the rest of the world discover a band I loved so much.
posted by superelastic at 12:59 PM on October 24, 2023 [13 favorites]
First show was Def Leppard on their Hysteria tour, St. Louis Arena back in February 1988. It was quite a production, but we had nosebleed seats and the band were tiny dots...
I've long since lost count of live shows that I've seen. Hell, I've lost count of how many times I've seen a few bands live. I know I've seen Aimee Mann at least 7 times, same with Jukebox the Ghost.
Most memorable / best shows: Paul McCartney in 1989 in Chicago, The Cure at Riverport Ampitheatre on the Wish tour ~1993 (outdoor venue, perfect weather for The Cure on that evening), R.E.M. on the Green tour, Aimee Mann with The Boston Pops, and Robyn Hitchcock with Yo La Tengo backing doing the entire Black Snake Diamond Role album.
posted by jzb at 1:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I've long since lost count of live shows that I've seen. Hell, I've lost count of how many times I've seen a few bands live. I know I've seen Aimee Mann at least 7 times, same with Jukebox the Ghost.
Most memorable / best shows: Paul McCartney in 1989 in Chicago, The Cure at Riverport Ampitheatre on the Wish tour ~1993 (outdoor venue, perfect weather for The Cure on that evening), R.E.M. on the Green tour, Aimee Mann with The Boston Pops, and Robyn Hitchcock with Yo La Tengo backing doing the entire Black Snake Diamond Role album.
posted by jzb at 1:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Did anyone else see Jimi Hendrix at the original Electric Factory in Philly? 1968. Incredibly, the second concert I attended was also there - Janis Joplin. I was a young teen who snuck out of my house and gladly partook of (mildish) substances, so they might have appeared in reverse order.
posted by citygirl at 1:01 PM on October 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by citygirl at 1:01 PM on October 24, 2023 [10 favorites]
My husbear has tales of seeing It's A Beautiful Day in upstate NY tripping on acid. I don't have those tales to share, but I love that band and think it would have been a Truly Grand Time.
posted by hippybear at 1:05 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 1:05 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
First concert was Joan Baez, who I was far too young to appreciate but in retrospect made for a great experience for what, seven year old me. Best show would have to be Andrew Bird playing solo in a small club with a toy piano and a violin on a neck strap he'd occasionally toss over his shoulder, to better access said toy piano whilst whistling.
posted by St. Oops at 1:05 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by St. Oops at 1:05 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Oh, I forgot to mention my two "bucket list" shows - I *finally* got to see Rush for the R40 tour, which was just as amazing as I'd hoped it would be, and Boston's 2014 "Heaven on Earth" tour.
posted by hanov3r at 1:11 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hanov3r at 1:11 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
The first concert I remember is the Jackson 5 on the Victory tour at Dodger Stadium. I remember it was very loud, very cold, and I couldn't see anything.
The first concert of my teen years, that started me on my path of loving live music was Depeche Mode at the Rose Bowl (the 101 show). I walked away a bigger fan than I went in, and it really DID start raining during Blasphemous Rumours.
[insert too many great shows to detail at this point in my day]
The most recent show I went to was Aimee Mann and Regina Spektor. I've seen Regina almost as many times as anoyone else I've seen and she is charming and so talented. I'd never seen Aimee before, but she was also fantastic.
I'll be back with more.
posted by ApathyGirl at 1:13 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
The first concert of my teen years, that started me on my path of loving live music was Depeche Mode at the Rose Bowl (the 101 show). I walked away a bigger fan than I went in, and it really DID start raining during Blasphemous Rumours.
[insert too many great shows to detail at this point in my day]
The most recent show I went to was Aimee Mann and Regina Spektor. I've seen Regina almost as many times as anoyone else I've seen and she is charming and so talented. I'd never seen Aimee before, but she was also fantastic.
I'll be back with more.
posted by ApathyGirl at 1:13 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
The R40 tour was a perfect ending tour for one of the most amazing bands that will exist in our lifetimes, and probably anyone's lifetime.
posted by hippybear at 1:16 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 1:16 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've seen Pete Seeger and also seen Helmet (whom I shared a doobie with after the show). I've been on the guest list for an Underworld show and attempted to take a date to see Bobby McFerrin with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. I've seen Phish not nearly as many times as I'd like to. (Thanks bondcliff for sharing your Phish experiences!) But the best concert experience I've had was Bruce Springsteen in the pouring rain in The Netherlands, at a park behind my apartment. I got to ride my bike home, soaked, after singing along with thousands of Dutchies and a few of my colleagues from around the world. I was a few weeks away from moving back to the US and I needed that concert so badly.
posted by knile at 1:16 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by knile at 1:16 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best show I ever saw was Bryan Ferry, in Virginia sometime around 1987 or 1988.
posted by JanetLand at 1:19 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by JanetLand at 1:19 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
My first concert without my parents was the Smashing Pumpkins at the Civic Center in Providence in 1996. It was good, but not as crazy as the other time I saw them at a small Providence nightclub 3 years later. I've seen Underworld five times (3 NYC, 2 Boston), Peter Gabriel four (1 NYC, 3 Boston), and lots and lots of groups once or twice. I'm more of a dance music fan so a lot of that last group are DJs. Do they count?
posted by mkb at 1:24 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mkb at 1:24 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
being a kid from a small town, one of my first memorable shows was my first year in the city to go to school and seeing Fishbone
in high school I was fairly obsessed with the Pixies and I eventually got to see them, the late incarnation, but Frank Black and the Catholics when they started touring was pretty great
I always have time for the Joel Plaskett Emergency
shows at the Edmonton Folk Fest that stand out: Chris Isaak, Wilco, Steve Earle, Colin Hay, John Hiatt. Lhasa de Sala.
getting very stoned and hearing Elevator made me a Rick White fan
posted by elkevelvet at 1:24 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
in high school I was fairly obsessed with the Pixies and I eventually got to see them, the late incarnation, but Frank Black and the Catholics when they started touring was pretty great
I always have time for the Joel Plaskett Emergency
shows at the Edmonton Folk Fest that stand out: Chris Isaak, Wilco, Steve Earle, Colin Hay, John Hiatt. Lhasa de Sala.
getting very stoned and hearing Elevator made me a Rick White fan
posted by elkevelvet at 1:24 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
My kid just returned from driving across the state to see Darrell Scott. He sat close enough to the stage that Scott took note of his T-shirt--mine, from a Darrell Scott/Tim O'Brien show my kid attended when he was a wee child. "Oh, you know those guys?" "Yeah, I think they're pretty cool!" Whereupon Scott talked for a bit about his work with Tim O'Brien. My kid met him after the show, and chatted and came home with a signed hat, CD, and guitar pick. The photo of the two of them just melted my heart--the old pro with a young and grinning fan. Thank you, Darrell Scott, for making a kid's year!
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:25 PM on October 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:25 PM on October 24, 2023 [7 favorites]
First concert I ever saw was George Clinton. I was like 10 and that's a weird way to start seeing shows. Other notable concerts have been Jungle at Pappy and Harriets, Clown Core performing in a Port-a-Potty and Willie Nelson performing the whole Stardust album with the LA Philharmonic. I've seen some good shows over the years.
posted by downtohisturtles at 1:27 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by downtohisturtles at 1:27 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
You know, MonkeyToes, it's those little tiny moments that are just a few minutes out of a musician's day that can make a fan's year that are so precious and seem to be entirely too few. I'm so glad your kid got that connection with that star. It's priceless.
posted by hippybear at 1:28 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 1:28 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Oh, yeah... Back in 2015 there was the Gentlemen Of The Road music festival in Walla Walla, and my concert buddy/partner-in-crime MeFi's wallabear [RIP] lived maybe 100 yards from the venue. It was several days of shows on several stages around town, but the main stage had: Jack Garrett, James Vincent McMorrow, Dawes, Foo Fighters, TuneYards, TheVaccines, Jenny Lewis, The Flaming Lips, and Mumford & Sons.
posted by hippybear at 1:33 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 1:33 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I lament the loss of paper ticket stubs. I used to save them and I still have the stub from the first concert I saw, Kansas in 1977. I still can't believe my parents drove me 90 minutes to the spectrum in Philly and dropped me off. I was 14. I had floor seats and the person next to me tried to hand me a joint.
Since then i've seen hundreds of shows. Was a deadhead in the 80's. I've seen Miles and Dizzy, Sinatra and the Clash (at my college in the early eighties). In the eighties I saw pretty much every college radio act/new wave band in existence (if a band had "the" in front of their name i saw them, i'm sure) because I lived in a big city.
When I moved to Seattle in the 90's I stopped seeing big national acts in stadiums and arenas in favor of local or touring bands in small venues. Lots of Jazz/funk/ stuff, local up and coming bands, the like.
I go to fewer shows these days, but my daughter is currently into metal, so we saw a bunch of fun shows this summer and I loved it.
Can't name any single show as best show ever, since I've had a great great time at so very many concerts. Probably the particular friends I was with at any given show would rank it highly more than the setlist or star-power in retrospect.
Going to shows with your kids is beyond wonderful.
posted by OHenryPacey at 1:33 PM on October 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
Since then i've seen hundreds of shows. Was a deadhead in the 80's. I've seen Miles and Dizzy, Sinatra and the Clash (at my college in the early eighties). In the eighties I saw pretty much every college radio act/new wave band in existence (if a band had "the" in front of their name i saw them, i'm sure) because I lived in a big city.
When I moved to Seattle in the 90's I stopped seeing big national acts in stadiums and arenas in favor of local or touring bands in small venues. Lots of Jazz/funk/ stuff, local up and coming bands, the like.
I go to fewer shows these days, but my daughter is currently into metal, so we saw a bunch of fun shows this summer and I loved it.
Can't name any single show as best show ever, since I've had a great great time at so very many concerts. Probably the particular friends I was with at any given show would rank it highly more than the setlist or star-power in retrospect.
Going to shows with your kids is beyond wonderful.
posted by OHenryPacey at 1:33 PM on October 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
First: Kenny Rogers at the Ohio State Fair 1978 or 79
Seen a whole lot of live shows over the years. Many memorable including many, many Grateful Dead shows as well as 20 years of free music at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in SF's Golden Gate Park. Last year's Remain in Light set there by Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew pretty much knocked my socks off.
Live music is my church :-) :-) :-)
posted by birdsong at 1:34 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Seen a whole lot of live shows over the years. Many memorable including many, many Grateful Dead shows as well as 20 years of free music at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in SF's Golden Gate Park. Last year's Remain in Light set there by Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew pretty much knocked my socks off.
Live music is my church :-) :-) :-)
posted by birdsong at 1:34 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
The best show I've ever been to was Weird Al. The guy really knows how to put on a concert.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 1:35 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by RonButNotStupid at 1:35 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
The first live music I ever remember seeing was at a square dance in Texas. I was very small, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
First big concert was Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Beck. So much guitar. SRV died not long after.
Saw some of the 90's staples like Smashing Pumpkins, Cypress Hill, Stereolab, Beastie Boys, etc. But the most memorable shows by far were Crash Worship.
My first CW show was at the Back Room in Austin, a popular heavy metal bar. They were banned from peforming there after the first performance, which I think happened almost everywhere they played. It was just too out of control, what with the pyrotechnics and other substances.
The second show was out in a field in the country, with a gigantic bonfire, crazy dancing, and primordial sounds that I have not heard the like of since. It was a pure pagan freak-fest, the kind of thing you think about when your kids start asking what you did in the years following high school.
posted by swift at 1:35 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First big concert was Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Beck. So much guitar. SRV died not long after.
Saw some of the 90's staples like Smashing Pumpkins, Cypress Hill, Stereolab, Beastie Boys, etc. But the most memorable shows by far were Crash Worship.
My first CW show was at the Back Room in Austin, a popular heavy metal bar. They were banned from peforming there after the first performance, which I think happened almost everywhere they played. It was just too out of control, what with the pyrotechnics and other substances.
The second show was out in a field in the country, with a gigantic bonfire, crazy dancing, and primordial sounds that I have not heard the like of since. It was a pure pagan freak-fest, the kind of thing you think about when your kids start asking what you did in the years following high school.
posted by swift at 1:35 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First was probably Tröckener Kecks, late 80s.
If it comes to memorable, few things beat a striptease act on a pogo stick.
Most recent: Shellac, last weekend. Shellac are never not good.
I've played in a small amount of bands; a very small amount of the gigs I played weren't embarrassing.
posted by farlukar at 1:37 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
If it comes to memorable, few things beat a striptease act on a pogo stick.
Most recent: Shellac, last weekend. Shellac are never not good.
I've played in a small amount of bands; a very small amount of the gigs I played weren't embarrassing.
posted by farlukar at 1:37 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
My second best show was Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe & Rockpile, and Mink DeVille at the Circle Theater in downtown Indy. So good.
posted by Thorzdad at 1:37 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 1:37 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
I lament the loss of paper ticket stubs.
Pearl Jam takes note of this sentiment and will send you paper tickets for your show. They are useless for entry but if you've got, as I have, maybe four decades of ticket stubs you've been collecting, this is an artifact of enormous value.
posted by hippybear at 1:38 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Pearl Jam takes note of this sentiment and will send you paper tickets for your show. They are useless for entry but if you've got, as I have, maybe four decades of ticket stubs you've been collecting, this is an artifact of enormous value.
posted by hippybear at 1:38 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
First concert: at the end of the state marching band contest, our chaperones took us to some sorry concert in the mall with Club Nuveau, who had an unnecessary cover of Lean on Me. We watched 2 songs, and left for home. We arrived at neither the beginning or the end, but somehow caught a full version of Lean on Me. I think they must have played it every other song.
First real concert: Sponge. The height of their popularity. I still think they have 3 good songs, the rest terrible, but they were actually pretty good in concert.
Worst shows:
Marilyn Manson (by far) - 30 minute set, sounded just like the CD, the highlight was standing like Jesus while everyone spit on him.
Filter and White Zombie: boring - White Zombie was on the cusp of breaking up and it was easy to tell. Filter had a #1 hit I think - they were boring.
Best shows: Tripping Daily - bubbles everywhere, smoke machine, people dancing in weird costumes - really fun experience. Total ripoff of the Flaming Lips, but IMO better songs at that time.
I played in a band. We weren't good, but we were local first opener (not traveling opener) for a few moderately famous acts like Jimmy's Chicken Shack (Offspring ripoff) who were fun, REO Speeddealer (REO Speedwagon made them change their name) who were hilarious, Seven Mary Three (boring Pearl Jam ripoff band), and most famously Garbage, who were pissed a much more famous artist was in town the night before (Paul McCartney maybe?- it's been 25 years!) and not that many people showed up to their show.
Willie Nelson - he played so many songs, it felt relentless. Like I wanted to give up and leave.
Latest real concert: TV Girl - who were boring musically, and kinda pissed the majority of their audience was young kids who knew them from TikTok considering their generally adult material, but the singer was really funny.
Favorite recent concert: We have a local fake Taylor Swift band that plays mostly the rockin' songs and they are awesome. I personally prefer her concerts to actual Taylor Swift, who works is the slow songs from Evermore that all bleed together for me. She also shows videos that highlight which guy each song is about and the kids love that.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:39 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
First real concert: Sponge. The height of their popularity. I still think they have 3 good songs, the rest terrible, but they were actually pretty good in concert.
Worst shows:
Marilyn Manson (by far) - 30 minute set, sounded just like the CD, the highlight was standing like Jesus while everyone spit on him.
Filter and White Zombie: boring - White Zombie was on the cusp of breaking up and it was easy to tell. Filter had a #1 hit I think - they were boring.
Best shows: Tripping Daily - bubbles everywhere, smoke machine, people dancing in weird costumes - really fun experience. Total ripoff of the Flaming Lips, but IMO better songs at that time.
I played in a band. We weren't good, but we were local first opener (not traveling opener) for a few moderately famous acts like Jimmy's Chicken Shack (Offspring ripoff) who were fun, REO Speeddealer (REO Speedwagon made them change their name) who were hilarious, Seven Mary Three (boring Pearl Jam ripoff band), and most famously Garbage, who were pissed a much more famous artist was in town the night before (Paul McCartney maybe?- it's been 25 years!) and not that many people showed up to their show.
Willie Nelson - he played so many songs, it felt relentless. Like I wanted to give up and leave.
Latest real concert: TV Girl - who were boring musically, and kinda pissed the majority of their audience was young kids who knew them from TikTok considering their generally adult material, but the singer was really funny.
Favorite recent concert: We have a local fake Taylor Swift band that plays mostly the rockin' songs and they are awesome. I personally prefer her concerts to actual Taylor Swift, who works is the slow songs from Evermore that all bleed together for me. She also shows videos that highlight which guy each song is about and the kids love that.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:39 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
First show was The Payola$ in I think 1983. Since then I've been lucky enough to catch Wilco, Prince, Janet Jackson (Rhythm Nation tour), Bob Dylan (Tracy Chapman opening), David Bowie (Glass Spider tour), The Tragically Hip, late incarnation Pixies, Rick Springfield in a local bar (the moms were going crazy), Electric Six, Dragonforce (with two separate pirate themed opening acts??). This last year, notable concerts were Kaleo, Volbeat and Airbourne. In 30 years of going to shows Airbourne was the loudest, highest intensity concert I have ever attended. They started with the aggression that most bands finish the night with and it only accelerated.
posted by SonInLawOfSam at 1:42 PM on October 24, 2023
posted by SonInLawOfSam at 1:42 PM on October 24, 2023
The late Mattie Dellinger, a long-time small-town journalist in East Texas, had a call-in radio show, “Mattie’s Party Line.” She did a bit where she complained about Willie Nelson looking like a hippy, and after he caught wind of it he called in to defend himself. They became fast friends and he even came to the tiny town of Center to play a show for her birthday. Before the actual concert, he performed for a special broadcast of Mattie’s radio show. I was working for a newspaper in the next county and finagled my way in. Willie and the band were set up on a flatbed trailer at the end of a rodeo arena deep in the Piney Woods. They played a full show, and the live audience consisted of me and my photographer, Miss Mattie and her family and Willie’s crew. I’ve seen my fair share of great shows over the years, but that one is my favorite.
posted by mcdoublewide at 1:43 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by mcdoublewide at 1:43 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
My first concert was in 1977. I was 15. It was one of those all day in a football stadium events. I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blue Oyster Cult along with a few other bands. We had so much fun that we did it again a month later and saw Yes, Bob Seger, and the J. Geils band. Donovan was also there that day, trying to make a comeback.
Went to many, many concerts after that and I saw most of the big groups of the late 70's to early 80's.
One of the standouts was seeing The Police in a college gym before they got super popular.
posted by freakazoid at 1:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Went to many, many concerts after that and I saw most of the big groups of the late 70's to early 80's.
One of the standouts was seeing The Police in a college gym before they got super popular.
posted by freakazoid at 1:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
My first concert was Weird Al Yankovic on the Running With Scissors tour all the way back in 1999. I was 16. Damn near ruined me for future shows. Second show was Aerosmith in 2001, and my first club show was Melt-Banana in 2003 at the Knitting Factory in Manhattan.
In 2004 I got to see my favorite band of all time, DEVO, at a show in Central Park, and I've been lucky enough to see them eight more times since. I'm hoping there's an East Coast leg of this farewell tour so I can make it an even ten.
I'm a live music junkie and will often to go at least a show a month, though I've been dialing it down lately due to money and age. I go to a lot of club shows for various cold/darkwave acts that come through NYC but I've been to my fair share of big shows.
I actually attended my first stadium show back in August. I won VIP Suite tickets to see Metallica, and fuck if I wasn't gonna use that. Free food, free beer, free Metallica? Come on. It actually got me back into Metallica, a band I'd basically given up on around the time of the whole Napster debacle.
Most recent show was Nuovo Testamento with Normal Bias (basically coldwave/darkwave/dance). Next show for me is Plack Blague, the best gay leather industrial act to come out of Omaha, Nebraska, on Halloween night.
I've been lucky enough to see a bunch of bands I never imagined I'd see, as well. Top of mind are Suicide, The Vapors (of "Turning Japanese" fame), King Missile, Negativland, and Man... Or Astro-Man?.
posted by SansPoint at 1:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
In 2004 I got to see my favorite band of all time, DEVO, at a show in Central Park, and I've been lucky enough to see them eight more times since. I'm hoping there's an East Coast leg of this farewell tour so I can make it an even ten.
I'm a live music junkie and will often to go at least a show a month, though I've been dialing it down lately due to money and age. I go to a lot of club shows for various cold/darkwave acts that come through NYC but I've been to my fair share of big shows.
I actually attended my first stadium show back in August. I won VIP Suite tickets to see Metallica, and fuck if I wasn't gonna use that. Free food, free beer, free Metallica? Come on. It actually got me back into Metallica, a band I'd basically given up on around the time of the whole Napster debacle.
Most recent show was Nuovo Testamento with Normal Bias (basically coldwave/darkwave/dance). Next show for me is Plack Blague, the best gay leather industrial act to come out of Omaha, Nebraska, on Halloween night.
I've been lucky enough to see a bunch of bands I never imagined I'd see, as well. Top of mind are Suicide, The Vapors (of "Turning Japanese" fame), King Missile, Negativland, and Man... Or Astro-Man?.
posted by SansPoint at 1:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
First Concert was Billy Joel, Piano Man to Innocent Man tour in '83. This was before he turned into a huge shit of a person, fucked over Doug Stegmeyer, and lost all my respect.
First Grateful Dead show was Philly in September of 87. From then I saw as many as I could. My motto is, "I Miss Jerry!"
In fact, I saw as many SHOWS as I could along the way. Before COVID hit, my last show was Queen w/ Adam Lambert @ Philly. ("I miss The Spectrum, too!). After some personal issues, I'm getting back in the groove, and took in Dead & Co. @ SPAC on Father's Day. (Big mistake. I'm not able to deal with "maximum occupancy", and 25,000 people is just too much for me.)
But after that I went and got some Gov't Mule tickets for the "Dark Side of the Mule" show @ SPAC a few weeks later. That was GOOD. And a buddy "paid me back" by getting me a Les Claypool & the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade show @ The Palace Theater in Albany, NY last Friday, and that was all sorts of fun. They played Pink Floyd's Animals album.
Oh, and of them all, I'd say the BEST was John Hartford's Aeroplane Reunion show back in November of 2000 at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band at Garden State Arts Center in '06 is a runner-up.
posted by mikelieman at 1:50 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
First Grateful Dead show was Philly in September of 87. From then I saw as many as I could. My motto is, "I Miss Jerry!"
In fact, I saw as many SHOWS as I could along the way. Before COVID hit, my last show was Queen w/ Adam Lambert @ Philly. ("I miss The Spectrum, too!). After some personal issues, I'm getting back in the groove, and took in Dead & Co. @ SPAC on Father's Day. (Big mistake. I'm not able to deal with "maximum occupancy", and 25,000 people is just too much for me.)
But after that I went and got some Gov't Mule tickets for the "Dark Side of the Mule" show @ SPAC a few weeks later. That was GOOD. And a buddy "paid me back" by getting me a Les Claypool & the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade show @ The Palace Theater in Albany, NY last Friday, and that was all sorts of fun. They played Pink Floyd's Animals album.
Oh, and of them all, I'd say the BEST was John Hartford's Aeroplane Reunion show back in November of 2000 at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band at Garden State Arts Center in '06 is a runner-up.
posted by mikelieman at 1:50 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
The most memorable end of a concert for me was U2 on the final show of their Joshua Tree tour. They'd had B.B. King as an opener, and at the age of 20 I had no idea who he was, but he was brought back out to do a new song that would later become quite famous, When Love Comes To Town. It had never been played before, hadn't even been recorded, so it all went over my head at the time. But they ended the show with "40", which takes lyrics from Psalm 40 from the Bible, and during which Edge and Adam exchange instruments.
So the song has a chant that ends the song, not an unfamiliar trope for U2 fans, and it's singing "How I long to sing this song", between Bono and the audience over a vamp from the rest of the group. And then Adam, playing guitar leaves the stage. And the audience keeps singing. And then Edge leaves the stage. And the audience keeps singing. And then Bono leaves the stage. And the audience keeps singing. And then Larry leaves the stage. So there is no band left on stage. And the audience keeps singing. And the audience keeps singing as they file orderly out of the arena. And the audience keeps singing as they walk into the giant halls where their voices echo. And the audience keeps singing as they walk across bridges to the stacked carpark. And the audience keeps singing while they find their cars, with their voices rebounding against the concrete of all the levels of this place where they have parked their metal steeds.
I've been to a zillion shows. But that concert in Ft Worth back those many years ago... that's the ONLY show I've been to where there was no final wave of audience applause at the end. No acknowledgement of "this show has ended, we have thanked the performers, we are now entering normal life".
That concert ended but never ended. Everyone walked out of that arena carrying the music with them, outward and into their cars, into their public transit, into their lives.
That concert possibly has never ended for people who were then in attendence. I've seen even U2 themselves try to recreate this energy to close out their shows and failing. This was a specific moment in time, and I would love to see it happen again at any given artists' show, but I don't think it may ever be reproduced.
posted by hippybear at 1:51 PM on October 24, 2023 [12 favorites]
So the song has a chant that ends the song, not an unfamiliar trope for U2 fans, and it's singing "How I long to sing this song", between Bono and the audience over a vamp from the rest of the group. And then Adam, playing guitar leaves the stage. And the audience keeps singing. And then Edge leaves the stage. And the audience keeps singing. And then Bono leaves the stage. And the audience keeps singing. And then Larry leaves the stage. So there is no band left on stage. And the audience keeps singing. And the audience keeps singing as they file orderly out of the arena. And the audience keeps singing as they walk into the giant halls where their voices echo. And the audience keeps singing as they walk across bridges to the stacked carpark. And the audience keeps singing while they find their cars, with their voices rebounding against the concrete of all the levels of this place where they have parked their metal steeds.
I've been to a zillion shows. But that concert in Ft Worth back those many years ago... that's the ONLY show I've been to where there was no final wave of audience applause at the end. No acknowledgement of "this show has ended, we have thanked the performers, we are now entering normal life".
That concert ended but never ended. Everyone walked out of that arena carrying the music with them, outward and into their cars, into their public transit, into their lives.
That concert possibly has never ended for people who were then in attendence. I've seen even U2 themselves try to recreate this energy to close out their shows and failing. This was a specific moment in time, and I would love to see it happen again at any given artists' show, but I don't think it may ever be reproduced.
posted by hippybear at 1:51 PM on October 24, 2023 [12 favorites]
The first name act I saw live was Sharon, Lois and Bram (at the library). The first band I saw was The Irish Rovers (with my family and a bunch of family friends) at a hockey rink. The first concert I saw that I had paid my own money to go to was Dire Straits (at the Palace of Auburn Hills). Never been on stage as a performer of any kind, but I have seen my fair share of live shows over the decades. If I had to pick a few as the best, these immediately come to mind:
- Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Phoenix (Toronto), summer of '98
- PJ Harvey at Massey Hall (Toronto), 2017
- Toots & The Maytals, Lee's Palace (Toronto), mid-2000s
- Jale, The Toucan (Kingston), 1994 or 95
- Parcels, Massey Hall, 2022 (first show I saw since lockdown, etc.; never been part of a crowd with that kind of ecstatic-to-be-there energy)
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:53 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
- Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Phoenix (Toronto), summer of '98
- PJ Harvey at Massey Hall (Toronto), 2017
- Toots & The Maytals, Lee's Palace (Toronto), mid-2000s
- Jale, The Toucan (Kingston), 1994 or 95
- Parcels, Massey Hall, 2022 (first show I saw since lockdown, etc.; never been part of a crowd with that kind of ecstatic-to-be-there energy)
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:53 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I forgot to mention that I have 0 stadium bands in my top 50 concert experiences, with a list of bands like Pear Jam, Paul McCartney, Metallica, AC/DC, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, U2, and who knows how many others. Maybe if you pay for the best seats? I'd rather watch a medium venue show any day of the week. Maybe they are better now, with bigger screens and better light shows? I've not been to one in 20 years.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:53 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:53 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
The first concert I went to was Tom Cochrane's Mad, Mad World Tour on Canada Day of 1991.
Some really memorable shows:
The Chicks, a couple of times in arenas.
The Foo Fighters opening for Bob Dylan. Dylan was terrible, but the Foo Fighters were great.
Blue Rodeo in a tiny bar in St. Louis.
Almost getting thrown out of a Neko Case at the Phoenix for knitting.
The Sadies live album recording sessions at Lee's.
Rodney Crowell at the Horseshoe.
Alejandro Escovedo at the El Mocambo.
Kris Kristofferson at the Country Music Hall of Fame
Jann Arden at Massey Hall
Raul Midon at Massey Hall opening for someone and I don't have any idea who he opened for so they clearly weren't memorable but he was fucking great.
Sarah Slean, Margot Timmins and the Barenaked Ladies with the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall.
Jimmy Rankin at Hugh's Room.
The most recent concert I went to is a Meghan Patrick concert I covered for Sound Check. The photographer was looking for someone to write the text to go with her pics and I volunteered.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:56 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Some really memorable shows:
The Chicks, a couple of times in arenas.
The Foo Fighters opening for Bob Dylan. Dylan was terrible, but the Foo Fighters were great.
Blue Rodeo in a tiny bar in St. Louis.
Almost getting thrown out of a Neko Case at the Phoenix for knitting.
The Sadies live album recording sessions at Lee's.
Rodney Crowell at the Horseshoe.
Alejandro Escovedo at the El Mocambo.
Kris Kristofferson at the Country Music Hall of Fame
Jann Arden at Massey Hall
Raul Midon at Massey Hall opening for someone and I don't have any idea who he opened for so they clearly weren't memorable but he was fucking great.
Sarah Slean, Margot Timmins and the Barenaked Ladies with the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall.
Jimmy Rankin at Hugh's Room.
The most recent concert I went to is a Meghan Patrick concert I covered for Sound Check. The photographer was looking for someone to write the text to go with her pics and I volunteered.
posted by jacquilynne at 1:56 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
First show: John Denver, maybe 1974 or 1975. (I refuse to be embarrassed about this.)
Best show: Dire Straits on the Brothers in Arms tour.
Most recent show: Nickel Creek at the Fox Theater in Oakland a couple of weeks ago. Surprisingly affordable and easily worth thrice the price we paid for it. The opening act, Hawktail, was also excellent.
I've been to many, many symphony and classical concerts, but I gather that's not what we're talking about here.
posted by rekrap at 1:56 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Best show: Dire Straits on the Brothers in Arms tour.
Most recent show: Nickel Creek at the Fox Theater in Oakland a couple of weeks ago. Surprisingly affordable and easily worth thrice the price we paid for it. The opening act, Hawktail, was also excellent.
I've been to many, many symphony and classical concerts, but I gather that's not what we're talking about here.
posted by rekrap at 1:56 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
The worst two name acts I've seen were Guided By Voices (got him/them on an off night, Pollard was drunk off his ass the whole time) and Weezer (when they were touring behind the blue album; so bad it basically put me off the band forever).
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:58 PM on October 24, 2023
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:58 PM on October 24, 2023
Oh, BTW. here's that U2 show at Tarrant County Convention Center in 1987.
I have the ticket stub from that concert tucked inside my never-opened vinyl of the Rattle And Hum album.
posted by hippybear at 1:59 PM on October 24, 2023
I have the ticket stub from that concert tucked inside my never-opened vinyl of the Rattle And Hum album.
posted by hippybear at 1:59 PM on October 24, 2023
The_Vegetables: Yeah, having just done my first stadium show I can't say the idea of going to one again has much appeal, unless I get free tickets again.
posted by SansPoint at 2:00 PM on October 24, 2023
posted by SansPoint at 2:00 PM on October 24, 2023
Earliest shows... probably Hawkwind at Kingston Poly sometime in the early 70s (Silver Machine!) and Chicago at Finsbury Park.
Great gigs, too many to count really, but a quick think brings up (in no order of importance):
* Chris Thile and Hilary Hahn at the Used Book Cafe in NYC - mandolin and classical violin duo, quite amazing
* Paul Simon's farewell gig in Hyde Park
* Sierra Hull and a string bass player whose name I completely forget at Joe's Pub in NYC
* Ray Davies at the Hop Farm festival in Kent. Lying in the sun with a pint listening to Lola and Taxman was magic. (Dylan was on the same bill and was rubbish. He sounded like a bad Dylan impersonation)
* The Stones at Twickenham, last tour with Charlie Watts. They had a blast, and hearing "Street Fighting Man" live for the first time brought the hairs up on the back of my neck, realizing that I'd been listening to that for 50 years.
I (still) play a few open mics around South London, drag the National out and play some ragtime and blues, and it's great fun (for me, at least)
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 2:09 PM on October 24, 2023
Great gigs, too many to count really, but a quick think brings up (in no order of importance):
* Chris Thile and Hilary Hahn at the Used Book Cafe in NYC - mandolin and classical violin duo, quite amazing
* Paul Simon's farewell gig in Hyde Park
* Sierra Hull and a string bass player whose name I completely forget at Joe's Pub in NYC
* Ray Davies at the Hop Farm festival in Kent. Lying in the sun with a pint listening to Lola and Taxman was magic. (Dylan was on the same bill and was rubbish. He sounded like a bad Dylan impersonation)
* The Stones at Twickenham, last tour with Charlie Watts. They had a blast, and hearing "Street Fighting Man" live for the first time brought the hairs up on the back of my neck, realizing that I'd been listening to that for 50 years.
I (still) play a few open mics around South London, drag the National out and play some ragtime and blues, and it's great fun (for me, at least)
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 2:09 PM on October 24, 2023
First music concert was The Beach Boys in like 1984.
Best concert? Probably the first time I saw Devo, Lollapalooza '96. Saw The Ramones, Rancid, Soundgarden, and most of Metallica's set (Nothing Else Matters gave me feels at the time so I had to leave. But got out of the parking lot within 5 minutes!)
Favorites: Steely Dan in '09 and '16
posted by luckynerd at 2:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best concert? Probably the first time I saw Devo, Lollapalooza '96. Saw The Ramones, Rancid, Soundgarden, and most of Metallica's set (Nothing Else Matters gave me feels at the time so I had to leave. But got out of the parking lot within 5 minutes!)
Favorites: Steely Dan in '09 and '16
posted by luckynerd at 2:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
hippybear, I have had that exact same experience seeing U2, also on the Joshua Tree tour. I can't think of any better song than 40 to close a show. I saw them on a later tour and they closed with something else (I don't remember what) and it was a huge disappointment.
In fact, that U2 show was my first concert. Worcester Centrum, 1986 or so.
posted by bondcliff at 2:11 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
In fact, that U2 show was my first concert. Worcester Centrum, 1986 or so.
posted by bondcliff at 2:11 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
My first real concert was X, I was a crazy teenage fan and I've seen them a couple more times over the years. Just went to a show of theirs over the summer and they honestly look and sound great - they seemed pretty beat ten years ago but I think they're taking better care of themselves now.
I actually keep a list of all the artists I've seen live. It's probably not complete but according to the list I've seen 75+ performers (including openers, each band I actually heard at a festival, etc).
Most memorable shows:
- Patti Smith doing a free show on Santa Monica Pier. Seen her a couple more times since and she's always mind-blowing but that show was next level.
- Bjork at a bullfighting stadium in Madrid
- Janelle Monae at the Hollywood Bowl when Stevie Wonder showed up. I've seen her 3x and she always puts on an amazing show but getting Stevie out there was surreal
- Bikini Kill - just saw them last year and the energy was incredible
Worst show I've seen, no question, was the Magnetic Fields. They all had a cold and they looked and sounded just awful. I felt so bad for them. And the worst concert experience was waiting four hours for MIA to show up to a show in San Francisco only to finally give up and go home before she went on because I had to work in the morning. No idea if she ever turned up.
posted by potrzebie at 2:19 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
I actually keep a list of all the artists I've seen live. It's probably not complete but according to the list I've seen 75+ performers (including openers, each band I actually heard at a festival, etc).
Most memorable shows:
- Patti Smith doing a free show on Santa Monica Pier. Seen her a couple more times since and she's always mind-blowing but that show was next level.
- Bjork at a bullfighting stadium in Madrid
- Janelle Monae at the Hollywood Bowl when Stevie Wonder showed up. I've seen her 3x and she always puts on an amazing show but getting Stevie out there was surreal
- Bikini Kill - just saw them last year and the energy was incredible
Worst show I've seen, no question, was the Magnetic Fields. They all had a cold and they looked and sounded just awful. I felt so bad for them. And the worst concert experience was waiting four hours for MIA to show up to a show in San Francisco only to finally give up and go home before she went on because I had to work in the morning. No idea if she ever turned up.
posted by potrzebie at 2:19 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
The Who
Jethro Tull
Led Zeppelin
Donovan
Country Joe and the Fish
The Grateful Dead
The Electric Flag
Steve Miller
The Doors
Jimi Hendrix
Talking Heads
The Thompson Twins
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Stevie Wonder
Joao Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto
Nick Brignola
Black Stalin
Waldemar Bastos
Kassav'
Zin
Eric Virgil
Patrick Parole
Cesaria Evora
Stanley Turrentine
Mary Stallings
Scott Hamilton
Manny Oquendo
Sweet Micky
Tabou Combo
Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens
Tito Puente
J. Geils
Tabu Ley Rochereau and Afrisa Orchestra
posted by DJZouke at 2:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Jethro Tull
Led Zeppelin
Donovan
Country Joe and the Fish
The Grateful Dead
The Electric Flag
Steve Miller
The Doors
Jimi Hendrix
Talking Heads
The Thompson Twins
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Stevie Wonder
Joao Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto
Nick Brignola
Black Stalin
Waldemar Bastos
Kassav'
Zin
Eric Virgil
Patrick Parole
Cesaria Evora
Stanley Turrentine
Mary Stallings
Scott Hamilton
Manny Oquendo
Sweet Micky
Tabou Combo
Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens
Tito Puente
J. Geils
Tabu Ley Rochereau and Afrisa Orchestra
posted by DJZouke at 2:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm going to wade into this Stadium Show thing.
There are levels at which you engage at a concert. There are levels during which you are engaging directly with the band and fellow attendees during a show.
The Club Show: This is basically any club show, fewer than a few hundred attendees, in which you are all in a small room together so you could shout a thing and the band is guaranteed to hear you, along with everyone else present, and might interact.
The Venue Show: This is bigger, like a theater with seats. Maybe people on the stage can hear you but the space is designed for you in the seats to hear people on stage not vice versa. This will be severel hundred more seats, maybe a factor of ten, above the club level. At this point, the shows are no longer intimate, it's a performance in a performance space. It's the difference between a piano lounge and an auditorium.
The Arena: So, these are never designed for music. They are hostile from the outset, and are only made are friendly to music as the budget for the team you have to bring in to tame the echoes of basketball into a focussed sound space.
The Stadium Show: It's outdoors. There is no ceiling, and that's both literal and metaphorical. Sound is based on your engineering team, not on the venue itself. The performing act is far enough away from the audience that they are microscopic, and so they need to rely on spectacle or performing brilliance to keep them engaged. It's the most difficult, boss level.
My top stadium concerts would have to be U2 in Honolulu at the end of their Vertigo Tour, and my worst would have to be the dual-headlining Guns And Roses/Metallica tour, during our show Axl refused to take the stage for nearly ninety minutes and thus lost the good will of an entire stadium of people who had paid money to see him perform. I don't have any statistics to quote but I am sure fewer of those people are his fans after that than before.
posted by hippybear at 2:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
There are levels at which you engage at a concert. There are levels during which you are engaging directly with the band and fellow attendees during a show.
The Club Show: This is basically any club show, fewer than a few hundred attendees, in which you are all in a small room together so you could shout a thing and the band is guaranteed to hear you, along with everyone else present, and might interact.
The Venue Show: This is bigger, like a theater with seats. Maybe people on the stage can hear you but the space is designed for you in the seats to hear people on stage not vice versa. This will be severel hundred more seats, maybe a factor of ten, above the club level. At this point, the shows are no longer intimate, it's a performance in a performance space. It's the difference between a piano lounge and an auditorium.
The Arena: So, these are never designed for music. They are hostile from the outset, and are only made are friendly to music as the budget for the team you have to bring in to tame the echoes of basketball into a focussed sound space.
The Stadium Show: It's outdoors. There is no ceiling, and that's both literal and metaphorical. Sound is based on your engineering team, not on the venue itself. The performing act is far enough away from the audience that they are microscopic, and so they need to rely on spectacle or performing brilliance to keep them engaged. It's the most difficult, boss level.
My top stadium concerts would have to be U2 in Honolulu at the end of their Vertigo Tour, and my worst would have to be the dual-headlining Guns And Roses/Metallica tour, during our show Axl refused to take the stage for nearly ninety minutes and thus lost the good will of an entire stadium of people who had paid money to see him perform. I don't have any statistics to quote but I am sure fewer of those people are his fans after that than before.
posted by hippybear at 2:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
First concert: Crosby, Stills, and Nash reunion tour
Concert that shaped who I am as a person: Ramones in 1990 and BTS in 2021
I also managed to see Nine Inch Nails open for Jesus and Mary Chain in the 90s and damn was that an eye opener. The whole crowd was floored.
Best concerts: Melissa Etheridge right after she came out. She was so full of joy and was so happy to perform. BTS in Vegas, they were sassy and put on one hell of a show. Suga in LA, it was a delight to watch his musical journey progress through the whole show. John Prine and Sturgill Simpson in Dublin...what more needs to be said.
posted by teleri025 at 2:25 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Concert that shaped who I am as a person: Ramones in 1990 and BTS in 2021
I also managed to see Nine Inch Nails open for Jesus and Mary Chain in the 90s and damn was that an eye opener. The whole crowd was floored.
Best concerts: Melissa Etheridge right after she came out. She was so full of joy and was so happy to perform. BTS in Vegas, they were sassy and put on one hell of a show. Suga in LA, it was a delight to watch his musical journey progress through the whole show. John Prine and Sturgill Simpson in Dublin...what more needs to be said.
posted by teleri025 at 2:25 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've never been a concert guy, I can really only count them on one hand, and probably without even using my thumb.
First technically a concert was a Minneapolis band called Trova, who was performing at an art in the park event when I was a teenager; the theater sound technician who I was working with on Oklahoma (also performing in the park) was friends with them and I bought one of their CDs from their lead singer and chatted with them a while.
In college I went to a Tori Amos concert in Columbia, Missouri, in around 1994?
Went to a few medium-famous bands at bars -- Reverend Horton Heat, Rusted Root, Fugazi -- but I don't even do that too much.
Crystal Method in around 2000 -- that was a really good show, small venue, I was right up at the stage.
I had tickets for Nine Inch Nails' tour in 95? but they were cancelled.
The band Soul Coughing -- one of my favorite bands ever -- was in Fargo in 1998? but I was a new dad with a kid and zero moneys so couldn't make it. They broke up shortly after.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:26 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First technically a concert was a Minneapolis band called Trova, who was performing at an art in the park event when I was a teenager; the theater sound technician who I was working with on Oklahoma (also performing in the park) was friends with them and I bought one of their CDs from their lead singer and chatted with them a while.
In college I went to a Tori Amos concert in Columbia, Missouri, in around 1994?
Went to a few medium-famous bands at bars -- Reverend Horton Heat, Rusted Root, Fugazi -- but I don't even do that too much.
Crystal Method in around 2000 -- that was a really good show, small venue, I was right up at the stage.
I had tickets for Nine Inch Nails' tour in 95? but they were cancelled.
The band Soul Coughing -- one of my favorite bands ever -- was in Fargo in 1998? but I was a new dad with a kid and zero moneys so couldn't make it. They broke up shortly after.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:26 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
The one really notable event I can say that I was at: M-80, a New-No-Now Wave Festival, at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse in 1979. Read the article, it's good.
My lasting memory from M-80 is watching these new things called "music videos" by a guy named Chuck Statler. You can see a photo of people watching them in the linked article (I might be in that photo somewhere, I haven't checked). Among other things, he did a lot of early videos for Devo. Today we can pull them up on YouTube by demand, at M-80, they were showing them with an old school film projector and screen like the AV nerds in your high school would roll around on a cart.
Example: Devo: The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise, one of many shown at the event.
Somewhere I have a T-Shirt in decent condition. I think there might be one in the museum at the Minnesota History Center....
(Fun fact that I literally learned just now from the article: Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum was there, too, at age 14!)
posted by gimonca at 2:27 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
My lasting memory from M-80 is watching these new things called "music videos" by a guy named Chuck Statler. You can see a photo of people watching them in the linked article (I might be in that photo somewhere, I haven't checked). Among other things, he did a lot of early videos for Devo. Today we can pull them up on YouTube by demand, at M-80, they were showing them with an old school film projector and screen like the AV nerds in your high school would roll around on a cart.
Example: Devo: The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise, one of many shown at the event.
Somewhere I have a T-Shirt in decent condition. I think there might be one in the museum at the Minnesota History Center....
(Fun fact that I literally learned just now from the article: Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum was there, too, at age 14!)
posted by gimonca at 2:27 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First concert was Jethro Tull touring to promote their 'infamous'* Crest of a Knave album.
Best was Chicago Blues Festival lineup of Eddy Clearwater, Luther Allison, and Otis Rush back to back.
Craziest was my first ever live Opera performance. Salome with Deborah Voigt making her re-entry into the Opera world after her ROH fiasco and her subsequent weight loss surgery. When the severed head of John the Baptist was brought on to the stage and Voigt gave it a full on the lips kiss!! Wowza.
Worst was Junior Wells when he was close to the end of his life and was in the throes of end stage Alcoholism. He feel down drunk on stage after 15 minutes. I am more pissed at his management for putting the guy on tour.
*-This album was awarded the first ever Heavy Metal Grammy. I don't respect Grammy awards after that crap.
posted by indianbadger1 at 2:42 PM on October 24, 2023
Best was Chicago Blues Festival lineup of Eddy Clearwater, Luther Allison, and Otis Rush back to back.
Craziest was my first ever live Opera performance. Salome with Deborah Voigt making her re-entry into the Opera world after her ROH fiasco and her subsequent weight loss surgery. When the severed head of John the Baptist was brought on to the stage and Voigt gave it a full on the lips kiss!! Wowza.
Worst was Junior Wells when he was close to the end of his life and was in the throes of end stage Alcoholism. He feel down drunk on stage after 15 minutes. I am more pissed at his management for putting the guy on tour.
*-This album was awarded the first ever Heavy Metal Grammy. I don't respect Grammy awards after that crap.
posted by indianbadger1 at 2:42 PM on October 24, 2023
First one that I ever chose to go to was Van Halen on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour. My dad was a sound engineer when I was a really young kid so I was behind the board for Buddy Rich on his last recorded show, my mom covered my ears and ran out of the room during a Devo rehearsal because they were so damned loud, and I got taken to a bunch like Tammy Wynette, Lionel Richie, etc.
Concertwise I'm mostly stuck in the 90s and used to see all the instrumental guitar acts when they came to town and went to a lot of prog rock shows.
My concert going days might be behind me though since I've recently been buying a lot of tickets to support the artist and then just deciding the day of that a good night's sleep is more important than the show. Might be some lingering COVID dread hanging out there, but I'm not really hesitant to go to other crowded places, just something about concerts in particular makes me feel agoraphobic and claustrophobic at the same time.
I will say that one of the best things I discovered when I still went to concerts was going alone is awesome. Don't have to worry if someone else is thirst, or needs the bathroom, or is going to talk to you through the whole show or wants to leave early, etc. S tier experience. I wish I'd discovered it a couple of decades ago.
posted by mikesch at 2:45 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Concertwise I'm mostly stuck in the 90s and used to see all the instrumental guitar acts when they came to town and went to a lot of prog rock shows.
My concert going days might be behind me though since I've recently been buying a lot of tickets to support the artist and then just deciding the day of that a good night's sleep is more important than the show. Might be some lingering COVID dread hanging out there, but I'm not really hesitant to go to other crowded places, just something about concerts in particular makes me feel agoraphobic and claustrophobic at the same time.
I will say that one of the best things I discovered when I still went to concerts was going alone is awesome. Don't have to worry if someone else is thirst, or needs the bathroom, or is going to talk to you through the whole show or wants to leave early, etc. S tier experience. I wish I'd discovered it a couple of decades ago.
posted by mikesch at 2:45 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
- First Concert: Jethro Tull with Fairport Convention opening, circa 1986
- Two Concerts Where The Band Shut Down & Just Stood There Because They Didn't Like The Crowd: Mazzy Star, Mr. Bungle
- Greatest Vocal Performance I Will Ever See, Of This I Have No Doubt: the Rev. Al Green
- Best Touring Shows I've Seen In The Last Two Years: Destroy Boys, Shovels & Rope, Billy Strings, They Might Be Giants, Timber Timbre
- Most Insane Spectacle of a Concert: Butthole Surfers, Aragon Ballroom, Chicago (on preview, the several times I saw Crash Worship, like Swift were crazier, but "Concert" doesn't really do those occasions justice,
- Concerts Where the Opening Band Blew The Headliner Out of the Water: Living Colour opening for the Rolling Stones, Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians opening for REM
- Best Concert Where Paul Simon Pointed At Our Little Group of Teenagers Dancing Our Butts Off In Row 6 And Seriously Annoying All The Sitting-Down Olds All Around Us And Gave Us A Shoutout From The Stage: Paul Simon
- Band I've Seen The Most: the good ol' Grateful Dead
- Longest Show: 7+ hours, midnight to sunrise, Phish at Big Cypress, FL, 12/31/99-1/1/00
- Most Fun Band To Catch In Austin, TX or Wherever They Might Be Touring: Shinyribs
Back in 1991-92 I landed my first job as a features writer at a tiny newspaper in New York. A so-so job except during the summer when the feature writer was also the concert reviewer, and we conveniently had a huge venue in our town that *everyone* played if they did a summer tour. And I usually had press-pass seats in the first few rows.
So for two years I saw, up close, pretty much every big-name band and a lot of great little bands that opened for them. And I'd been seeing shows there all through my teen years and kept on going long after that newspaper gig.
It's all a blur. somewhere I have a ranked list of all the shows I can remember, must be 200 or so. I can't find it now and won't bore you with it, but, from memory:
best concerts as a reviewer: John Cougar Mellencamp, just a nonstop parade of songs that had 30,000 people singing along, by a hard-working showman.... David Byrne, solo, Rei Momo tour, I think, just such a pure show ... BoDeans, still barely known, absolutely electric in a small room ... Lollapalooza II (Pearl Jam, Ministry, Ice Cube, Chili Peppers), the most intense connection between performers and audience I ever saw ..
other "bests": first show ever, Journey, 1981, and Steve Perry's voice was still huge and flawless, and Neal Schon was dazzling.... my first Springsteen show, somehow not until 2000, but with the original lineup and Bruce still in peak form ... The Police, Synchronicity tour (btw my late cousin really was at that legendary first show in the US with seven people in the audience) ... loudest, Metallica/Queensryche ... Billy Joel, 1983, Nylon Curtain, just such a showman ... the late Johnny Clegg, whom I've seen many times, just an amazing performer with such heart and who made a real difference... Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1989, kept everyone jubilant through a massive downpour ... Rush, just supremely talented ... Elvis Costello, Chrissie Hynde, Replacements (separately, not together, which would have been something...)
The disappointments: Guns n' Roses, at their peak, but also so wasted they were an hour late and sloppy as hell... and U2 (which kills me, because I love them) on the Achtung Baby tour. Just sloppy and a terrible setlist.
Even worse are the misses, that I wish I could get back. Like when a fellow reporter told me I really need to drive over to Vermont with him and see this new band called Phish, and I said, yeah, sure, whatever and passed, and now still haven't seen them. (hi, bondcliff....) And my last summer as a reviewer, the big show of the season was going to be Prince, on the Diamonds and Pearls tour. But something went haywire and they cancelled half the tour and never came back to town. Figured I'd see him someday, but...
Let's end on a good note. A couple of summers ago, old jaded me listened to my teenage sons and we went to a show by Jacob Collier. I scoffed... but it's easily in my alltime top 5. He just announced a new tour and tickets are on sale. Do yourself a favor and go. Doesn't matter what kind of music you like. He's an absolute savant and I've never seen such joy in a performer or in an audience.
posted by martin q blank at 2:50 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
So for two years I saw, up close, pretty much every big-name band and a lot of great little bands that opened for them. And I'd been seeing shows there all through my teen years and kept on going long after that newspaper gig.
It's all a blur. somewhere I have a ranked list of all the shows I can remember, must be 200 or so. I can't find it now and won't bore you with it, but, from memory:
best concerts as a reviewer: John Cougar Mellencamp, just a nonstop parade of songs that had 30,000 people singing along, by a hard-working showman.... David Byrne, solo, Rei Momo tour, I think, just such a pure show ... BoDeans, still barely known, absolutely electric in a small room ... Lollapalooza II (Pearl Jam, Ministry, Ice Cube, Chili Peppers), the most intense connection between performers and audience I ever saw ..
other "bests": first show ever, Journey, 1981, and Steve Perry's voice was still huge and flawless, and Neal Schon was dazzling.... my first Springsteen show, somehow not until 2000, but with the original lineup and Bruce still in peak form ... The Police, Synchronicity tour (btw my late cousin really was at that legendary first show in the US with seven people in the audience) ... loudest, Metallica/Queensryche ... Billy Joel, 1983, Nylon Curtain, just such a showman ... the late Johnny Clegg, whom I've seen many times, just an amazing performer with such heart and who made a real difference... Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1989, kept everyone jubilant through a massive downpour ... Rush, just supremely talented ... Elvis Costello, Chrissie Hynde, Replacements (separately, not together, which would have been something...)
The disappointments: Guns n' Roses, at their peak, but also so wasted they were an hour late and sloppy as hell... and U2 (which kills me, because I love them) on the Achtung Baby tour. Just sloppy and a terrible setlist.
Even worse are the misses, that I wish I could get back. Like when a fellow reporter told me I really need to drive over to Vermont with him and see this new band called Phish, and I said, yeah, sure, whatever and passed, and now still haven't seen them. (hi, bondcliff....) And my last summer as a reviewer, the big show of the season was going to be Prince, on the Diamonds and Pearls tour. But something went haywire and they cancelled half the tour and never came back to town. Figured I'd see him someday, but...
Let's end on a good note. A couple of summers ago, old jaded me listened to my teenage sons and we went to a show by Jacob Collier. I scoffed... but it's easily in my alltime top 5. He just announced a new tour and tickets are on sale. Do yourself a favor and go. Doesn't matter what kind of music you like. He's an absolute savant and I've never seen such joy in a performer or in an audience.
posted by martin q blank at 2:50 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
In DC I used to go to a tiny little bar called Galaxy Hut, which had bands every week. One night they had five shaggy dudes playing fast Velvety-Undergroundy music. I was about the only one standing right in front, drinking my beer, and I bought their EP on the way out. A few months later they released an album called Is This It.
posted by credulous at 2:51 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by credulous at 2:51 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
My first, official live show was Felony opening for Sparks in 1984. Jane Wiedlin joined them for the show, performing the songs she sang with them on In Outer Space (Cool Places, Popularity, Luck Me, Lucky You).
I recently posted a question about bands my friends have seen 3 times or more, to pare down the list of shows I've been to (gotta be around 200 different bands by now), here's my list:
U2
Beastie Boys
The Cure
Fleetwood Mac
Peter Gabriel
Metallica
Depeche Mode
X
The Damned
Pixies
Sting
Jane’s Addiction
Oingo Boingo
Memorable shows include:
Tool bringing out Jello Biafra to play a couple of DK songs at Bill Graham in SF,
Oingo Boingo on Halloween,
Peter Gabriel having the crowd pass him across the Forum floor and back, singing Lay Your Hands on Me (this is an example from Athens in 1987),
Rage Against the Machine opening for Porno for Pyros at Castaic Lake in '92,
Tom Waits
The Cult on NYE, fully missing the countdown, LOL
Lindsey Buckingham playing Big Love, alone on stage, during a Fleetwood Mac show...
posted by Chuffy at 2:52 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I recently posted a question about bands my friends have seen 3 times or more, to pare down the list of shows I've been to (gotta be around 200 different bands by now), here's my list:
U2
Beastie Boys
The Cure
Fleetwood Mac
Peter Gabriel
Metallica
Depeche Mode
X
The Damned
Pixies
Sting
Jane’s Addiction
Oingo Boingo
Memorable shows include:
Tool bringing out Jello Biafra to play a couple of DK songs at Bill Graham in SF,
Oingo Boingo on Halloween,
Peter Gabriel having the crowd pass him across the Forum floor and back, singing Lay Your Hands on Me (this is an example from Athens in 1987),
Rage Against the Machine opening for Porno for Pyros at Castaic Lake in '92,
Tom Waits
The Cult on NYE, fully missing the countdown, LOL
Lindsey Buckingham playing Big Love, alone on stage, during a Fleetwood Mac show...
posted by Chuffy at 2:52 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
First: RATT with Kix opening
Last: They Might Be Giants
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 2:55 PM on October 24, 2023
Last: They Might Be Giants
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 2:55 PM on October 24, 2023
From the late 1960s through about 1999, Austin was known as a live-music town. (Emphasis "was". Those days are long gone, alas.)
In my opinion, peak Austin was from around 1978 through 1984. Austin had (in retrospect) a literally astounding local live music scene. And all the cool touring bands played here as well.
I was hearing people talk about how great Austin used to be when I moved here in 1994, and I'm still hearing the same crap today. The fact is, if you don't think Austin has a great live music scene today, you're just not looking around. Could it be, perhaps, that the period you think of as Austin's peak happened to coincide with the time of life when you were young, strong, and free of obligation? Glory days pass us by, my friend. The night life ain't no good life, and it ain't my life no more either. But that doesn't mean it's not out there!
Last Friday alone the Chronicle listed no fewer that 122 different music events happening across the city, many of which featured bills of multiple bands. There are clubs and venues of every size, many of which have sweet little communities developing around them, as they ever did, but really more of them all the time. Beloved spots close, new ones open -- such is the Way. Have you checked out the scene at the Sahara Lounge? The Far Out? Sam's Town Point? Radio Coffee? There's so much going on in this town, all the time. Every night of the week we are spoiled for choice. Maybe there are places with a more vibrant, hopping music scene out there....but not many!
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 2:56 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
In my opinion, peak Austin was from around 1978 through 1984. Austin had (in retrospect) a literally astounding local live music scene. And all the cool touring bands played here as well.
I was hearing people talk about how great Austin used to be when I moved here in 1994, and I'm still hearing the same crap today. The fact is, if you don't think Austin has a great live music scene today, you're just not looking around. Could it be, perhaps, that the period you think of as Austin's peak happened to coincide with the time of life when you were young, strong, and free of obligation? Glory days pass us by, my friend. The night life ain't no good life, and it ain't my life no more either. But that doesn't mean it's not out there!
Last Friday alone the Chronicle listed no fewer that 122 different music events happening across the city, many of which featured bills of multiple bands. There are clubs and venues of every size, many of which have sweet little communities developing around them, as they ever did, but really more of them all the time. Beloved spots close, new ones open -- such is the Way. Have you checked out the scene at the Sahara Lounge? The Far Out? Sam's Town Point? Radio Coffee? There's so much going on in this town, all the time. Every night of the week we are spoiled for choice. Maybe there are places with a more vibrant, hopping music scene out there....but not many!
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 2:56 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Concerts Where the Opening Band Blew The Headliner Out of the Water
Carbon Leaf opening for Blues Traveller
Fair To Midland opening for Chevelle
Wild Orchid Children opening for Coheed And Cambria
[To be fair, I had no experience with Coheed And Cambria and their set was like something out of an MTV music video with the crowd seething on the floor in front of the stage, but the Wild Orchid Children set beforehand captured my imagination much more. That band is now dead, while Cohered seems to still continue.]
Ridiculous bands I've seen all opening up for U2:
B.B. King
Public Enemy
The Sugarcubes
Rage Against The Machine
Kanye West
Pearl Jam [I've seen them many times outside of this]
No Doubt
Lenny Kravitz
The Black Eyed Peas
I might be forgetting a couple.
Also, there was Rocko and The Rocktones, or something like that, a band made up of U2 touring crew members that only played one show in Honolulu, as far as I know.
posted by hippybear at 3:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Carbon Leaf opening for Blues Traveller
Fair To Midland opening for Chevelle
Wild Orchid Children opening for Coheed And Cambria
[To be fair, I had no experience with Coheed And Cambria and their set was like something out of an MTV music video with the crowd seething on the floor in front of the stage, but the Wild Orchid Children set beforehand captured my imagination much more. That band is now dead, while Cohered seems to still continue.]
Ridiculous bands I've seen all opening up for U2:
B.B. King
Public Enemy
The Sugarcubes
Rage Against The Machine
Kanye West
Pearl Jam [I've seen them many times outside of this]
No Doubt
Lenny Kravitz
The Black Eyed Peas
I might be forgetting a couple.
Also, there was Rocko and The Rocktones, or something like that, a band made up of U2 touring crew members that only played one show in Honolulu, as far as I know.
posted by hippybear at 3:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
(Tonight, by the way, I'm going to see a great touring act called Amigo the Devil at Emo's. Come on out, unless you'd rather sit and complain about how live music is dead here in Austin Texas....)
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 3:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 3:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Did a page search and didn't see Sparks. You guys are Missing Out.
posted by serena15221 at 3:02 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by serena15221 at 3:02 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Disappointments include:
Guns and Roses - headliner for Motorhead and Metallica, Axl Rose was drunk and combative the whole time. We left early.
Alice in Chains was replaced as an opener by Candlebox - I fell asleep during their set.
UB40 wasn't great.
That dude who stabbed himself on the floor at The Cure in '86...
Being unable to hear Tom Waits at the Bridge School Benefit because the younger folks in the crowd next to us talked over him, not knowing who he is, or what they were missing.
Mister Mister got booed off stage, opening for Adam Ant.
posted by Chuffy at 3:03 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Guns and Roses - headliner for Motorhead and Metallica, Axl Rose was drunk and combative the whole time. We left early.
Alice in Chains was replaced as an opener by Candlebox - I fell asleep during their set.
UB40 wasn't great.
That dude who stabbed himself on the floor at The Cure in '86...
Being unable to hear Tom Waits at the Bridge School Benefit because the younger folks in the crowd next to us talked over him, not knowing who he is, or what they were missing.
Mister Mister got booed off stage, opening for Adam Ant.
posted by Chuffy at 3:03 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
First for me was meh...Spandau Ballet at Massey Hall here in Toronto in 1983.(still have the ticket!)
My son has a way cooler first concert, I took him to Neil Young, also at Massey Hall about 10 years ago. So great.
posted by chococat at 3:05 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
My son has a way cooler first concert, I took him to Neil Young, also at Massey Hall about 10 years ago. So great.
posted by chococat at 3:05 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Did a page search and didn't see Sparks. You guys are Missing Out.
Must've just missed it...
posted by Chuffy at 3:05 PM on October 24, 2023
Must've just missed it...
posted by Chuffy at 3:05 PM on October 24, 2023
I will support Spandau Ballet for their Through The Barricades album, but I have never seen them live.
I did see Frankie Goes To Hollywood on their Liverpool tour, yet another band I saw on their final tour. Along with Genesis and Rush, although easily generations earlier than those later two.
posted by hippybear at 3:06 PM on October 24, 2023
I did see Frankie Goes To Hollywood on their Liverpool tour, yet another band I saw on their final tour. Along with Genesis and Rush, although easily generations earlier than those later two.
posted by hippybear at 3:06 PM on October 24, 2023
First: Trooper opening for Foreigner
Best: Lucked into front row tix for Brian Wilson
posted by whatevernot at 3:07 PM on October 24, 2023
Best: Lucked into front row tix for Brian Wilson
posted by whatevernot at 3:07 PM on October 24, 2023
First concert was Yes at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum, but it's not allowed in many security question things because for some reason they want at least 4 letters. So I wrote something like "YesF*&_)+U" which kind of defeats the purpose of coming up with a easy-to-remember but near-useless thing for improved security. At least my second concert wasn't U2 - don't know what those people do for those questions. My second show was actually Jefferson Starship, the night after Yes, and the less said the better - I remember three nights in a row in the mid-70s with Yes, JS, and then the current version of Chicago, which was nothing like the early 70s horn band. Each show probably cost $4.00. PNE concert time in Vancouver.
I'm still miffed that I turned up a chance to see Springsteen at the Queen Elizabeth Playhouse in '78 on the Darkness tour. I thought he was all hype until many years later my best friend sat me down and had me listen to the just-released Nebraska album. I worked my way backwards to Greetings, but didn't see him on the Born in the USA Tour because that was definitely hype. I finally caught a show on the Tom Joad tour in a symphony hall, but that material was no Nebraska, so an underwhelming show. We know there will never be a time machine because when you see these concert videos of Bruce from the 70s, everyone in the audience looks of that time.
And another vote for Phish. I caught a semi-stealth show in Ottawa in the golden year of '94, which was partly an intimate singalong session because most of the fans went directly from Toronto to Montreal and didn't see the ads for the show in the local paper, and weren't checking out usenet while on the road. Saw four shows in the 90s, and hopped off that bus to look after kids, life, etc.. Caught them in Seattle last April after 24 years, and they've still got it. I don't like all their songs by any means, but they achieve these peaks in almost every show that most bands never come near.
posted by morspin at 3:07 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm still miffed that I turned up a chance to see Springsteen at the Queen Elizabeth Playhouse in '78 on the Darkness tour. I thought he was all hype until many years later my best friend sat me down and had me listen to the just-released Nebraska album. I worked my way backwards to Greetings, but didn't see him on the Born in the USA Tour because that was definitely hype. I finally caught a show on the Tom Joad tour in a symphony hall, but that material was no Nebraska, so an underwhelming show. We know there will never be a time machine because when you see these concert videos of Bruce from the 70s, everyone in the audience looks of that time.
And another vote for Phish. I caught a semi-stealth show in Ottawa in the golden year of '94, which was partly an intimate singalong session because most of the fans went directly from Toronto to Montreal and didn't see the ads for the show in the local paper, and weren't checking out usenet while on the road. Saw four shows in the 90s, and hopped off that bus to look after kids, life, etc.. Caught them in Seattle last April after 24 years, and they've still got it. I don't like all their songs by any means, but they achieve these peaks in almost every show that most bands never come near.
posted by morspin at 3:07 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Clash at the Aragon Ballroom circa 84ish was pretty good 😁
posted by repoman at 3:07 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by repoman at 3:07 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
I go to far fewer gigs than I should. The last couple were excellent, though. Went to see Laura Veirs and Sam Amidon at a smallish gig pre-pandemic. I was on my own at that one, and it was lovely. Just recently, saw the wonderful Alasdair Roberts with a couple of good friends, and went for a meal afterwards. Trying to find a way to get my oldest kid to go and see some bands; need to find that zone of taste overlap - there's some potential I think.
posted by pipeski at 3:08 PM on October 24, 2023
posted by pipeski at 3:08 PM on October 24, 2023
First was Sky in '80 - very polite, very accomplished with a very middle aged audience
Next was Hawkwind in the same year - somewhat different atmosphere and crowd.
Best unexpected gig was seeing an unknown-outside-Iceland Sigur Rós supporting Godspeed You Black Emperor! in Aberdeen, 2000
Loudest was Tangerine Dream in '81.
Most fondly remembered - The Fall at the Haçienda the day after my eighteenth birthday (which I wrote about in this comment)
posted by thatwhichfalls at 3:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Next was Hawkwind in the same year - somewhat different atmosphere and crowd.
Best unexpected gig was seeing an unknown-outside-Iceland Sigur Rós supporting Godspeed You Black Emperor! in Aberdeen, 2000
Loudest was Tangerine Dream in '81.
Most fondly remembered - The Fall at the Haçienda the day after my eighteenth birthday (which I wrote about in this comment)
posted by thatwhichfalls at 3:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I did see Laurie Anderson's tour for The Nerve Bible with MeFi's own Nelson in Santa Fe, but I'm not sure he wants to acknowledge that.
posted by hippybear at 3:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Pere Ubu at a little upstairs club in Chicago in 1994 (could be 95) - the stage was only about 6-8" off the floor so the engagement with the band and Mr Thomas was amazong.
posted by djseafood at 3:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by djseafood at 3:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Concerts Where the Opening Band Blew The Headliner Out of the Water
Rage against the Machine blew Porno for Pyros out of the water.
Matisyahu was way better than UB40.
I'm sure I can think of a few more, but those two stood out.
Ridiculous bands I've seen all opening up for U2:
Pretenders (with Johnny Marr on guitar)
Lenny Kravitz
BB King
The Waterboys
posted by Chuffy at 3:13 PM on October 24, 2023
Rage against the Machine blew Porno for Pyros out of the water.
Matisyahu was way better than UB40.
I'm sure I can think of a few more, but those two stood out.
Ridiculous bands I've seen all opening up for U2:
Pretenders (with Johnny Marr on guitar)
Lenny Kravitz
BB King
The Waterboys
posted by Chuffy at 3:13 PM on October 24, 2023
Summer of '78 I was staying with my cousin in Providence RI in a borrowed condo a block away from the Civic Center. I was 15 and couldn't nearly get into bars yet but a few blocks away this regional band out of Boston was playing. A band I'd never heard of yet but damn if the guitarist wasn't tearing it up enough for me to stop notice and listen in for about a half hour. Six months later "Just What I Needed" climbed to the top of the charts, and I was all like "I know that band! By now you should already have figured out the name of the band I heard from the sidewalk that hot summer night.
Just shy of 5 years later and I'm attending college in Hartford, CT and this up and coming band from yurp gets booked for the Trinity College Spring Festival. No tix req'd, no seats, playing outdoors in the quad under brilliant blue skies on a 2 foot riser in front of maybe a thousand people. My friend was wearing a funny hat and Bono reached over and plucked the hat off her head and wore it for a song or two before returning it to her. So quaint and a year later they were selling out arenas.
posted by Fupped Duck at 3:14 PM on October 24, 2023
Just shy of 5 years later and I'm attending college in Hartford, CT and this up and coming band from yurp gets booked for the Trinity College Spring Festival. No tix req'd, no seats, playing outdoors in the quad under brilliant blue skies on a 2 foot riser in front of maybe a thousand people. My friend was wearing a funny hat and Bono reached over and plucked the hat off her head and wore it for a song or two before returning it to her. So quaint and a year later they were selling out arenas.
posted by Fupped Duck at 3:14 PM on October 24, 2023
First concert: random high school ska band, loooong forgotten.
First show I played: High school metal band, performing at a toys r us 'employee picnic', held inside the store. We got kicked out after the second song because a mosh pit started and someone broke a cash register. Somehow we failed to take this as a sign of greater things to come, and didn't play much after that.
Last shows I've been to: Postal Service reunion (with the Beths opening!) And the mountain goats, both in the last two weeks...
posted by kaibutsu at 3:16 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
First show I played: High school metal band, performing at a toys r us 'employee picnic', held inside the store. We got kicked out after the second song because a mosh pit started and someone broke a cash register. Somehow we failed to take this as a sign of greater things to come, and didn't play much after that.
Last shows I've been to: Postal Service reunion (with the Beths opening!) And the mountain goats, both in the last two weeks...
posted by kaibutsu at 3:16 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Have told this story before, am telling it again -
In 1986 (when I was only 16), my aunt surprised me with tickets to one of the performances for Peter Gabriel's SO tour, at a venue in Massachusetts. She got five tickets - two in the first balcony for me and a friend of my choice, and three in the cheap seats for herself and my parents. She'd decided to do that because she had a season pass to that particular venue, saw something about him in the season-ticket-holders' literature and remembered I was a geeky fan, and decided "well, okay, that sounds interesting." I was ecstatic, and so was my BFF Sue when I invited her to be my plus-one. Aunt S and my Mom were also looking forward to things - Mom had heard me playing SO all the time around the house and was enjoying how it reminded her of her college world-music phase, and Aunt S just knew Peter was supposed to be good and was game to check it out.
Dad, however, was another story. As we started the two-hour drive to the concert - me and Sue nearly speechless with excitement in the back seat - Dad dubiously asked, "So, this Peter Gabriel guy - what does he do?"
"Uh..." I frowned. "Like...he uses a lot of African rhythms and world music? Kind of like with Mom's MISSA LUBA album?"
"Oh, jeez...." Dad grumbled. There was a pause. Then he asked, "Well, has he done anything on the radio recently?"
"Uh...." Sue and I blinked at each other. "Well...his most recent song is 'Don't Give Up'."
"Oh, jeez....." Dad lapsed into silence for most of the rest of the drive up, and it was clear he was steeling himself for "I Am Not Going To Enjoy This." Sue and I were a little uneasy about that for a few minutes, but the excitement won out, and we got even more excited when we got to the venue and met my aunt, and she gave us our tickets and brought my parents to their seats.
The concert was amazing, of course. Sue and I were total Peter Gabriel newbies - all we knew was the stuff on SO, "Shock the Monkey" and "Solsbury Hill" and that was it - but we sat directly in front of a guy who would shout out the name of each song as he recognized it, so by the end of the concert we now knew "oh, that's 'Rhythm Of The Heat' and that's 'Family Snapshot' and that's 'Games Without Frontiers', got it." This was when Peter was still crowdsurfing during "Lay Your Hands On Me" and she and I tried begging a security guy to PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE let us down into the orchestra section to try to join in with that (he said no). We screamed, we giggled over "Big Time", we sang ourselves hoarse, we kept the singing at the end of "Biko" going a good 90 seconds after the lights went out.
We all met back at my parents' car after, as arranged. Sue and I were still vibrating with excitement and said very little. Mom and Aunt S did a lot of the talking about how much they'd loved it - asking Sue and I occasionally if we'd ever heard this or that song before, getting our take on things. Mom even compared the call-and-response thing Peter did at the end of "Biko" to a particular moment from the Catholic Mass.
As we were all chattering away, Dad was just leaning back against the car, arms folded across his chest, staring at his shoes. We pretty much ignored him, since he wasn't saying much and he had been dubious about the show on the way up. But then there was a lull in our conversation....and that's when Dad finally looked up at all of us, and all he said was - and I quote - "That was fucking great."
It was the first time either Sue or I had heard my father drop an f-bomb, so we were quite shocked. But - pleased that it was that which triggered it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:19 PM on October 24, 2023 [17 favorites]
In 1986 (when I was only 16), my aunt surprised me with tickets to one of the performances for Peter Gabriel's SO tour, at a venue in Massachusetts. She got five tickets - two in the first balcony for me and a friend of my choice, and three in the cheap seats for herself and my parents. She'd decided to do that because she had a season pass to that particular venue, saw something about him in the season-ticket-holders' literature and remembered I was a geeky fan, and decided "well, okay, that sounds interesting." I was ecstatic, and so was my BFF Sue when I invited her to be my plus-one. Aunt S and my Mom were also looking forward to things - Mom had heard me playing SO all the time around the house and was enjoying how it reminded her of her college world-music phase, and Aunt S just knew Peter was supposed to be good and was game to check it out.
Dad, however, was another story. As we started the two-hour drive to the concert - me and Sue nearly speechless with excitement in the back seat - Dad dubiously asked, "So, this Peter Gabriel guy - what does he do?"
"Uh..." I frowned. "Like...he uses a lot of African rhythms and world music? Kind of like with Mom's MISSA LUBA album?"
"Oh, jeez...." Dad grumbled. There was a pause. Then he asked, "Well, has he done anything on the radio recently?"
"Uh...." Sue and I blinked at each other. "Well...his most recent song is 'Don't Give Up'."
"Oh, jeez....." Dad lapsed into silence for most of the rest of the drive up, and it was clear he was steeling himself for "I Am Not Going To Enjoy This." Sue and I were a little uneasy about that for a few minutes, but the excitement won out, and we got even more excited when we got to the venue and met my aunt, and she gave us our tickets and brought my parents to their seats.
The concert was amazing, of course. Sue and I were total Peter Gabriel newbies - all we knew was the stuff on SO, "Shock the Monkey" and "Solsbury Hill" and that was it - but we sat directly in front of a guy who would shout out the name of each song as he recognized it, so by the end of the concert we now knew "oh, that's 'Rhythm Of The Heat' and that's 'Family Snapshot' and that's 'Games Without Frontiers', got it." This was when Peter was still crowdsurfing during "Lay Your Hands On Me" and she and I tried begging a security guy to PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE let us down into the orchestra section to try to join in with that (he said no). We screamed, we giggled over "Big Time", we sang ourselves hoarse, we kept the singing at the end of "Biko" going a good 90 seconds after the lights went out.
We all met back at my parents' car after, as arranged. Sue and I were still vibrating with excitement and said very little. Mom and Aunt S did a lot of the talking about how much they'd loved it - asking Sue and I occasionally if we'd ever heard this or that song before, getting our take on things. Mom even compared the call-and-response thing Peter did at the end of "Biko" to a particular moment from the Catholic Mass.
As we were all chattering away, Dad was just leaning back against the car, arms folded across his chest, staring at his shoes. We pretty much ignored him, since he wasn't saying much and he had been dubious about the show on the way up. But then there was a lull in our conversation....and that's when Dad finally looked up at all of us, and all he said was - and I quote - "That was fucking great."
It was the first time either Sue or I had heard my father drop an f-bomb, so we were quite shocked. But - pleased that it was that which triggered it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:19 PM on October 24, 2023 [17 favorites]
First concert: Don McLean. I was nine, it was my parent’s idea. He apparently refused to do a sound check and spent the whole time complaining about the audio.
Best show: Strapping Young Lad. Frighteningly intense. I’ve never seen a large crowd involuntarily flinch all at once before or since.
Second best: Valery Gergiev with the LSO performing Prokofiev’s fifth symphony. Sublime.
Other highlights: I was in the stage crew when Mr Bungle toured here. I saw them several times in a week and spent a lot of time backstage. Every show they did had a totally different vibe but they were all amazing. Gillian Welch, Bjork, Anthrax, Cathedral and Cyndi Lauper were all brilliant.
Also, once I was randomly wandering around Helsinki and stumbled across Vartinna doing a free show in a park.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 3:20 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best show: Strapping Young Lad. Frighteningly intense. I’ve never seen a large crowd involuntarily flinch all at once before or since.
Second best: Valery Gergiev with the LSO performing Prokofiev’s fifth symphony. Sublime.
Other highlights: I was in the stage crew when Mr Bungle toured here. I saw them several times in a week and spent a lot of time backstage. Every show they did had a totally different vibe but they were all amazing. Gillian Welch, Bjork, Anthrax, Cathedral and Cyndi Lauper were all brilliant.
Also, once I was randomly wandering around Helsinki and stumbled across Vartinna doing a free show in a park.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 3:20 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ridiculous bands I've seen all opening up for U2:
Little Stephen and the Disciples of Soul (yes I have seen Silvio Dante open for U2)
Lone Justice (GREAT band!)
The Pogues, with someone besides Shane singing but they were too far away and I was too drunk to know who it was.
Primus (same show as the Pogues. Everyone hated them because it was a stadium U2 show. I am a HUGE Primus fan)
My brother saw The Alarm open for U2 at a THEATER and I am forever envious. He also saw REM at a club.
posted by bondcliff at 3:21 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Little Stephen and the Disciples of Soul (yes I have seen Silvio Dante open for U2)
Lone Justice (GREAT band!)
The Pogues, with someone besides Shane singing but they were too far away and I was too drunk to know who it was.
Primus (same show as the Pogues. Everyone hated them because it was a stadium U2 show. I am a HUGE Primus fan)
My brother saw The Alarm open for U2 at a THEATER and I am forever envious. He also saw REM at a club.
posted by bondcliff at 3:21 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
So, I'm going to break out of all this concert talk to give a bit of a small update on my journey with microdosing psilocybin.
The shrooms I grew are of a more mild variety so i've been doing about 15mg every 3 days. I'm finding this is beneficial, but maybe is not the right dose/duration. I think it's helping with my general mood, and maybe my sleep cycle. I'm not documenting any of this very well, but overall I can't say doing this has been a negative. I will need to play with dosage and timing and see if there is something optimal for me, but for right now, it seems to be doing something good for me. Might must be placebo effect, too.
Anyway, I'm going to keep up with this for a while, playing around with things and seeing if I can find a point where I go "a-ha!". So far, that hasn't happened.
posted by hippybear at 3:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
The shrooms I grew are of a more mild variety so i've been doing about 15mg every 3 days. I'm finding this is beneficial, but maybe is not the right dose/duration. I think it's helping with my general mood, and maybe my sleep cycle. I'm not documenting any of this very well, but overall I can't say doing this has been a negative. I will need to play with dosage and timing and see if there is something optimal for me, but for right now, it seems to be doing something good for me. Might must be placebo effect, too.
Anyway, I'm going to keep up with this for a while, playing around with things and seeing if I can find a point where I go "a-ha!". So far, that hasn't happened.
posted by hippybear at 3:22 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
OMG I saw The Pogues open for U2, too! Thanks for reminding me of that!
posted by hippybear at 3:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Lately I've been nostalgic for one particular random show I saw in college, Dinosaur Jr. at Brown. I went to UCONN, but some art students who I sort of knew announced that they wanted to go up there on a day trip. So we hung out and saw their friends, and in walking around we incidently saw flyers up for the show that night, and of course I was like "you guys, we have to see this!"
There were maybe 200 kids at the most in this random campus space. It was SO fucking loud, my eardrums rang for days afterwards. The one song I remember was a cover of Pere Ubu's "Final Solution" which I didn't know, and I misunderstood the lyrics. (I thought J Mascis and co. were saying "Found in the jug, with the final solution.")
It's the kind of thing that's confusing and disorienting in the moment but muuuuch cooler in retrospect. I'm going to see them again in December, and you better believe I'm packing earplugs.
posted by anhedonic at 3:28 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
There were maybe 200 kids at the most in this random campus space. It was SO fucking loud, my eardrums rang for days afterwards. The one song I remember was a cover of Pere Ubu's "Final Solution" which I didn't know, and I misunderstood the lyrics. (I thought J Mascis and co. were saying "Found in the jug, with the final solution.")
It's the kind of thing that's confusing and disorienting in the moment but muuuuch cooler in retrospect. I'm going to see them again in December, and you better believe I'm packing earplugs.
posted by anhedonic at 3:28 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First was probably April Wine at London Gardens (a hockey arena). Saw a bunch of big arena events in the middle grades of high school but then moved to a bigger town and was old enough to drink, so nearly all bar/club shows the last year of high school, in art school and beyond.
Best sounding show was Nick Lowe at the Mod Club in Toronto, about 2015-ish. The club was the perfect size, the crowd was eating out of his hand and mellifluous best describes the sound his backing band put out. I've never had quite the same sensation of being bathed in music.
….but then Lowe played the Horseshoe more recently with Los Straitjackets and it was the single most unpleasant music performance experience I've ever had.
posted by brachiopod at 3:31 PM on October 24, 2023
Best sounding show was Nick Lowe at the Mod Club in Toronto, about 2015-ish. The club was the perfect size, the crowd was eating out of his hand and mellifluous best describes the sound his backing band put out. I've never had quite the same sensation of being bathed in music.
….but then Lowe played the Horseshoe more recently with Los Straitjackets and it was the single most unpleasant music performance experience I've ever had.
posted by brachiopod at 3:31 PM on October 24, 2023
My first concert was to see U2 at the CNE (A summer fair) in Toronto for their Zoo TV/Outside Broadcast tour. I was 13 and they were easily my favourite band so it was a really exciting day for me. My second concert was Nirvana on their In Utero tour at Maple Leaf Gardens the following year. The third was Nine Inch Nails, also at the Gardens, and it just happened to be my birthday. Looking back that's kind of a tough run of concerts to follow but I can't think of a concert* I went to where I didn't think to myself "this was a great concert" at the end of it and for at least a couple of days after so it is hard for me to say what the best or worst concert I've been to is. Part of that is because I haven't been to all that many concerts, at most only 3-4 a year so it ended up being just for bands I really liked and so as long as they come and put in the work I'll be happy.
*I can. The most disappointing concert I went to was Belle and Sebastian in Osaka because they played a pretty short set and there wasn't even an encore. I remember enjoying myself and then thinking, "wait, that's it?" when it was over. I'd seen them in Toronto a couple of years earlier and I've seen them here more recently as well and they played longer sets and had encores so something was up with that Osaka concert but I'll probably never know what.
I'm really not on board with this trend for big concerts to charge $100+ per ticket. I'd seen Muse before the pandemic on their Simulation Theory tour and it was a blast (I burst out laughing when the giant robotic skeleton popped out). I was hoping to catch them this time around and maybe bring my kids but then saw the ticket prices and noped right out. I get that the artists aren't making money from album sales anymore but I can't bring myself to pay that much for a concert ticket, especially when smaller acts that I really like are still doing shows at $40-50. Maybe after a bit more inflation in the price of everything else it'll seem reasonable again but I'm not there yet.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:32 PM on October 24, 2023
*I can. The most disappointing concert I went to was Belle and Sebastian in Osaka because they played a pretty short set and there wasn't even an encore. I remember enjoying myself and then thinking, "wait, that's it?" when it was over. I'd seen them in Toronto a couple of years earlier and I've seen them here more recently as well and they played longer sets and had encores so something was up with that Osaka concert but I'll probably never know what.
I'm really not on board with this trend for big concerts to charge $100+ per ticket. I'd seen Muse before the pandemic on their Simulation Theory tour and it was a blast (I burst out laughing when the giant robotic skeleton popped out). I was hoping to catch them this time around and maybe bring my kids but then saw the ticket prices and noped right out. I get that the artists aren't making money from album sales anymore but I can't bring myself to pay that much for a concert ticket, especially when smaller acts that I really like are still doing shows at $40-50. Maybe after a bit more inflation in the price of everything else it'll seem reasonable again but I'm not there yet.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:32 PM on October 24, 2023
First concert I wanted to go to: Kansas, Cedar Rapids IA, 1981 (Hi OHenryPacey!)
First concert I actually went to: Statler Brothers at the Iowa State Fair, late 1970s
Most recent concerts: Peter Gabriel a few weeks back, Kurt Elling/Superblue two weeks ago
Worst concert: The only thing I can think of is 10,000 Maniacs in the early 1990s - the music was good but Natalie Merchant couldn't stay on pitch for anything :(
Artist seen the most times: They Might Be Giants, probably between 25 and 30 times, including
- an "early years" concert as the third night of a three night stand in 1994
- a show with the entire Pink Album in order (lots of Dans staring at chord charts on the floor, ha)
- 1980s TMBG opening for 1996 TMBG
- taking our then 4 and 0.5 year old kids to a No! kids concert at Old Town School of Folk Music, with a kid mosh pit in front of the stage in 2002
- seeing John Linnell's State Songs tour at Schuba's in 1999
Other memorable concerts:
David Byrne, Rei Mamo tour
David Byrne, American Utopia tour
Tom Waits (twice, can't remember the years)
Lots of Andrew Bird concerts, especially the Gezelligheid shows at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago
Peter Gabriel, Growing Up tour, 2003
Thomas Dolby twice, once in 1988 at Cabaret Metro, once in 2011 at Martyrs
In summary, I am set in my ways and should maybe get out more. :)
posted by sencha at 3:33 PM on October 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
First concert I actually went to: Statler Brothers at the Iowa State Fair, late 1970s
Most recent concerts: Peter Gabriel a few weeks back, Kurt Elling/Superblue two weeks ago
Worst concert: The only thing I can think of is 10,000 Maniacs in the early 1990s - the music was good but Natalie Merchant couldn't stay on pitch for anything :(
Artist seen the most times: They Might Be Giants, probably between 25 and 30 times, including
- an "early years" concert as the third night of a three night stand in 1994
- a show with the entire Pink Album in order (lots of Dans staring at chord charts on the floor, ha)
- 1980s TMBG opening for 1996 TMBG
- taking our then 4 and 0.5 year old kids to a No! kids concert at Old Town School of Folk Music, with a kid mosh pit in front of the stage in 2002
- seeing John Linnell's State Songs tour at Schuba's in 1999
Other memorable concerts:
David Byrne, Rei Mamo tour
David Byrne, American Utopia tour
Tom Waits (twice, can't remember the years)
Lots of Andrew Bird concerts, especially the Gezelligheid shows at the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago
Peter Gabriel, Growing Up tour, 2003
Thomas Dolby twice, once in 1988 at Cabaret Metro, once in 2011 at Martyrs
In summary, I am set in my ways and should maybe get out more. :)
posted by sencha at 3:33 PM on October 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
I'm just glad, as are all MeFites, that anhedonic isn't marching forth across their life chanting toward a final solution.
William Burroughs wrote a thing once about how a rock concert might be the most potent of mass manipulation tools, although Burroughs phrased it in terms of magickal manipulation. And I'm not sure those are entirely different when it comes to the power of a concert to harness the energy of a crowd for whatever purpose. Pink's [ed note: not P!nk... different performer] concerts in The Wall were certainly not something bourne of fantasy, but rather of experience.
I attended a series of concerts from The Polyphonic Spree many years ago during which it felt entirely possible that a new society could be created out of musical jazz-ish anarchism. Entirely a fantasy, but it was woven quite convincingly during those shows, those hours.
If you were to combine that level of "this is possible" with mass media [ed note: unlikely today in our fractured media society] and finding a voluntary crowd buy-in for the ideas being presented...
I mean, the difference between Bono in the early Nineties and a world dictator is probably just a matter of ambition.
posted by hippybear at 3:37 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
William Burroughs wrote a thing once about how a rock concert might be the most potent of mass manipulation tools, although Burroughs phrased it in terms of magickal manipulation. And I'm not sure those are entirely different when it comes to the power of a concert to harness the energy of a crowd for whatever purpose. Pink's [ed note: not P!nk... different performer] concerts in The Wall were certainly not something bourne of fantasy, but rather of experience.
I attended a series of concerts from The Polyphonic Spree many years ago during which it felt entirely possible that a new society could be created out of musical jazz-ish anarchism. Entirely a fantasy, but it was woven quite convincingly during those shows, those hours.
If you were to combine that level of "this is possible" with mass media [ed note: unlikely today in our fractured media society] and finding a voluntary crowd buy-in for the ideas being presented...
I mean, the difference between Bono in the early Nineties and a world dictator is probably just a matter of ambition.
posted by hippybear at 3:37 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
mikesch, I definitely have skipped a lot of shows I had tickets for in the past few years too. But I feel like the post covid sweet spot for me has been seeing shows at outdoor venues in the summer. Luckily I'm in the Seattle area so there's a lot of outdoor shows since it's light until 9pm and everyone's trying to soak up sun and enjoy outdoor activities while we've got decent weather.
My favorite venue these days is the zoo because they end really early so the animals can go to sleep. If you see a show near the solstice there you can drive home in the waning daylight. But you do have to either pay up for a reserved seat or get there SILLY early to find a spot.
posted by potrzebie at 3:42 PM on October 24, 2023
My favorite venue these days is the zoo because they end really early so the animals can go to sleep. If you see a show near the solstice there you can drive home in the waning daylight. But you do have to either pay up for a reserved seat or get there SILLY early to find a spot.
posted by potrzebie at 3:42 PM on October 24, 2023
My band opened for Ed Hall at the original Emo’s in Houston. At the time it was the coolest thing that had happened to me, but it was extremely uncool to acknowledge how cool it was, so I played it cool and acted like it was no big deal. But it was really cool.
posted by mcdoublewide at 3:45 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by mcdoublewide at 3:45 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Blues Traveler playing a dance in my high school cafeteria, 1988
Living Colour at the Ritz in NYC, 1989, after spraining my ankle that afternoon, jumping on one foot for hours in a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, Corey Glover somehow not melting in a wetsuit on stage, my ears rang for 2 days
Driving to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Alexandria VA, 1991, not even bothering to get there in time to see a couple of unknown opening bands called Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins
Fishbone at Trax in Charlottesville c 1992, Angelo Moore crowdsurfing from the front door to the stage
Christ Whitley solo at some little place in northern VA, c 2000, unbelievable even though his guitar kept going out of tune
James Brown at sunset at the Santa Fe Opera House, 2004
Lizzo at the Moda Center in Portland, 2022, the whole arena exploding with love energy
posted by gottabefunky at 3:45 PM on October 24, 2023
Living Colour at the Ritz in NYC, 1989, after spraining my ankle that afternoon, jumping on one foot for hours in a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, Corey Glover somehow not melting in a wetsuit on stage, my ears rang for 2 days
Driving to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Alexandria VA, 1991, not even bothering to get there in time to see a couple of unknown opening bands called Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins
Fishbone at Trax in Charlottesville c 1992, Angelo Moore crowdsurfing from the front door to the stage
Christ Whitley solo at some little place in northern VA, c 2000, unbelievable even though his guitar kept going out of tune
James Brown at sunset at the Santa Fe Opera House, 2004
Lizzo at the Moda Center in Portland, 2022, the whole arena exploding with love energy
posted by gottabefunky at 3:45 PM on October 24, 2023
I remain a decades long They Might Be Giants fan, and have enjoyed all of their shows, especially the ones where the played their first and second albums (different nights). The first time I saw them, however, was an "opening band blows the headliners out of the water" experience.
This was at Drew University. I went with my friend whom I had met at a summer program at Drew for high school juniors two years before. We were both attending Rutgers, and were going to hang with two other friends from that program who happened to attend Drew. I even got a ride home so I could pick up my parents car and then drive us to Drew. It was day of reunion, suffused by the anticipation of seeing They Might Be Giants.
This was still the early days, so it was just the Johns and a tape machine. The opening band was Tiny Lights, a local Hoboken based band. They started their set with their drummer and bassist running through the crowd from the back of the venue, wildly playing something vaguely discordant on alto sax and trumpet. They went on to play ridiculously good funk, soul, and psychedelic inflected rock. They were unbelievably tight, with hair-raising energy. The poor Johns never stood a chance.
In the next 6 years, I saw Tiny Lights any chance I got. They remain my favorite live music experience (although a few of the other local bands from that time are up there, too). There's definitely something be said for small shows in clubs in your early 20s.
posted by mollweide at 3:48 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
This was at Drew University. I went with my friend whom I had met at a summer program at Drew for high school juniors two years before. We were both attending Rutgers, and were going to hang with two other friends from that program who happened to attend Drew. I even got a ride home so I could pick up my parents car and then drive us to Drew. It was day of reunion, suffused by the anticipation of seeing They Might Be Giants.
This was still the early days, so it was just the Johns and a tape machine. The opening band was Tiny Lights, a local Hoboken based band. They started their set with their drummer and bassist running through the crowd from the back of the venue, wildly playing something vaguely discordant on alto sax and trumpet. They went on to play ridiculously good funk, soul, and psychedelic inflected rock. They were unbelievably tight, with hair-raising energy. The poor Johns never stood a chance.
In the next 6 years, I saw Tiny Lights any chance I got. They remain my favorite live music experience (although a few of the other local bands from that time are up there, too). There's definitely something be said for small shows in clubs in your early 20s.
posted by mollweide at 3:48 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
My first concert was Weezer, when I was 13. I got a concussion. Someone kicked me in the head while they were crowdsurfing. It was awesome.
I don't really remember my first time performing as a musician. It kind of just evolved from open mics and campfire jams.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 4:03 PM on October 24, 2023
I don't really remember my first time performing as a musician. It kind of just evolved from open mics and campfire jams.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 4:03 PM on October 24, 2023
First show - My Gran took me to a kids show in a Proper concert hall with Proper musicians when I was about 4. I don't remember much about it, but songs occasionally pop up in my head, and I'm back there.
First show without supervision - Bon Jovi. Terrible choice, but teen me wanted to go to a big stoopid rawk show. Which I got.
Most enjoyable show -
Either: Playing to 400ish people at a local blus festival weekend. I was not, and never will be, the world's greatest drummer, but I killed it that night. Stage size was just right, crowd size was just right, everything was just right.
Or- My brother got free tickets to Radiohead. I'm a huge fan, so I was right over. Fantastic show. Cos the tickets were free, we didn't feel the need to suck every minute out of the performance. I still remember us smiling together at the empty bar halfway through the show.
Or: Oasis. Again, bro's free tickets. We just bounced around like idiots.
Or: Every Flaming Lips show. Wayne only deals in joy. It feels like it is impossible to be unhappy at those shows.
Or: Unknown DJ in some rented venue, assisted by an unknown purveyor of head-magic. Danced for hours, felt like a new person.
posted by B3taCatScan at 4:04 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
First show without supervision - Bon Jovi. Terrible choice, but teen me wanted to go to a big stoopid rawk show. Which I got.
Most enjoyable show -
Either: Playing to 400ish people at a local blus festival weekend. I was not, and never will be, the world's greatest drummer, but I killed it that night. Stage size was just right, crowd size was just right, everything was just right.
Or- My brother got free tickets to Radiohead. I'm a huge fan, so I was right over. Fantastic show. Cos the tickets were free, we didn't feel the need to suck every minute out of the performance. I still remember us smiling together at the empty bar halfway through the show.
Or: Oasis. Again, bro's free tickets. We just bounced around like idiots.
Or: Every Flaming Lips show. Wayne only deals in joy. It feels like it is impossible to be unhappy at those shows.
Or: Unknown DJ in some rented venue, assisted by an unknown purveyor of head-magic. Danced for hours, felt like a new person.
posted by B3taCatScan at 4:04 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
My boy cat is all "this wet food you've provided for me does not meet my standards" and I'm all "you've eaten this food 100 times before and I'm not giving you anything different and also you have dry food sitting right here all the time so eat that" and my boy cat is all "I will make mournful sounds because you are mistreating me and I will starve because I have no food" and I'm all "yeah, I will just turn up my music louder so I can't hear your bullshit pitiful mourning" and my boy cat is all all "I will walk into the room where you are and strive to be louder than your music so you will notice how much you are mistreating me" and I will be all "jeebus I must type about this on the interwebs".
posted by hippybear at 4:04 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 4:04 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
first (cringe, cringe): Tom Jones at the SEC, Glasgow, late 1980s. Amazing entertainer, tho.
memorable: hard to choose between Neutral Milk Hotel with Sparklehorse opening at King Tuts in Glasgow just over 25 years ago or The Singing Saw Shadow Show at the Tranzac in Toronto circa 2010. The latter looked and sounded like nothing else I've ever experienced, and it was magical.
youngest artist(s): Smoosh (know Chaos Chaos), c. 2006. The Saavedra sisters had a great time supporting Eels.
oldest artist: Wade Mainer, who I saw play at a small gathering in 2008. Wade was 101 and sang harmonies with his wife, Julia (89).
bands I've seen multiple times: Eels, They Might Be Giants, The Aliens (Beta Band spinoff), Thomas Dolby, pretty much everything Elephant 6-related. But the person I've seen most is Robyn Hitchcock. I can't count how many times I've seen him play, from a ferry in Glasgow in 1994 to a boat on the River Lea in 2001 to a sweaty basement in Toronto performing all of Piper at the Gates of Dawn with The Sadies. The old, defunct Robyn Hitchcock mailing list Fegmaniax comprises most of my friends. We keep in touch, we visit, we eat, we're all at the losing parents stage, we commiserate, we're still alive, we miss the ones who walked on before. We sometimes even talk about Robyn Hitchcock.
posted by scruss at 4:07 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
memorable: hard to choose between Neutral Milk Hotel with Sparklehorse opening at King Tuts in Glasgow just over 25 years ago or The Singing Saw Shadow Show at the Tranzac in Toronto circa 2010. The latter looked and sounded like nothing else I've ever experienced, and it was magical.
youngest artist(s): Smoosh (know Chaos Chaos), c. 2006. The Saavedra sisters had a great time supporting Eels.
oldest artist: Wade Mainer, who I saw play at a small gathering in 2008. Wade was 101 and sang harmonies with his wife, Julia (89).
bands I've seen multiple times: Eels, They Might Be Giants, The Aliens (Beta Band spinoff), Thomas Dolby, pretty much everything Elephant 6-related. But the person I've seen most is Robyn Hitchcock. I can't count how many times I've seen him play, from a ferry in Glasgow in 1994 to a boat on the River Lea in 2001 to a sweaty basement in Toronto performing all of Piper at the Gates of Dawn with The Sadies. The old, defunct Robyn Hitchcock mailing list Fegmaniax comprises most of my friends. We keep in touch, we visit, we eat, we're all at the losing parents stage, we commiserate, we're still alive, we miss the ones who walked on before. We sometimes even talk about Robyn Hitchcock.
posted by scruss at 4:07 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
I also have seen Robyn Hitchcock a fair number of times, mostly when he's played very small and odd venues near me over the past 15 years. I love his music, and he's perhaps unsurprisingly very good at spinning very RH-esque stories during interludes.
posted by mollweide at 4:09 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 4:09 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
first (cringe, cringe): Tom Jones
Okay, first... having seen Tom Jones perform is like a gold nugget in your concert leather pouch of coins.
posted by hippybear at 4:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
Okay, first... having seen Tom Jones perform is like a gold nugget in your concert leather pouch of coins.
posted by hippybear at 4:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
In 1998 when I was finishing my freshman year of highschool I went to the HFStival in Washington DC which was huge rock/alternative all day festival concert at the football stadium.
Green Day concluded their set by setting their drumset on fire and smashing guitars and doing other insane things and then Billie Joe pulled out an acoustic guitar and stood in front of the flames all alone with one stand mic and played Good Riddance (Time of your Life).
I was young hormonal kid who had never had a girlfriend before and the moment moved me to ask a girl I'd just met at the concert that day if she'd like to go on a date sometime. We went on one date.
Green Day wasn't the last act! I didn't stick around to see how Crystal Method handled the fire situation, we left before they took the stage.
posted by jermsplan at 4:12 PM on October 24, 2023
Green Day concluded their set by setting their drumset on fire and smashing guitars and doing other insane things and then Billie Joe pulled out an acoustic guitar and stood in front of the flames all alone with one stand mic and played Good Riddance (Time of your Life).
I was young hormonal kid who had never had a girlfriend before and the moment moved me to ask a girl I'd just met at the concert that day if she'd like to go on a date sometime. We went on one date.
Green Day wasn't the last act! I didn't stick around to see how Crystal Method handled the fire situation, we left before they took the stage.
posted by jermsplan at 4:12 PM on October 24, 2023
Artists I have seen three times? Rudolf Serkin, Ferron, and David Byrne.
posted by acrasis at 4:16 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by acrasis at 4:16 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
My first concert had garbage cans lined up outside the entrance, overflowing with things the security guards confiscated--fruit, liquids, etc. I was so impressed that my date had snuck 2 joints in with a packet of cigarettes! We sat in the hot sun all day, mediocre football stadium sound. After that, every summer and fall was filled with concerts; mostly the big stadium shows were that terrible sound.
Smaller venues with good sound: The old Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, where the Butthole Surfers opened for U2 (their first big tour) and it was safe and fun to mosh until you fell over. The Greek on a hot summer night, Adam Ant is literally swimming in a glass case and emerging dripping wet in baggy red underpants. The Ford, watching clouds of smoke rise through green lights as Perry Farrell & Janes got us all so very high. Jane's closing the first LollaPalooza in Irvine with projected surf videos. Years and years later, Jane's Addiction again, with the girls on a teeter-totter during "Summertime Rolls".
Prince wearing high heels and pants that were entirely made of lace on the backside, with that pink fluffy stoll he wore to the Academy Awards the next year. The sound was so tight, so intense.
Talking Heads doing Remain In Light at the Palladium, once of the best "small" venues (this is where the concert in The Blues Brothers is filmed, although I never went to a show that had seats on the floor). A great place for dancing, and nice to have a stage that dominates the room.
Booker T and The MGS.
Nirvana at the godawful Forum, the best sound I've every heard in that barn, but I was luckily enough filming right up front and the security guards let me wander around.
I too have seen Tom Jones, at a party at Universal when the film Mars Attacks was released. He was magnificent, voice was still good, deeper, it was obvious he didn't have quite the moves but he would make these somewhat suggestive gestures (crotchally) and someone did throw panties. It was superb.
posted by winesong at 4:18 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Smaller venues with good sound: The old Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, where the Butthole Surfers opened for U2 (their first big tour) and it was safe and fun to mosh until you fell over. The Greek on a hot summer night, Adam Ant is literally swimming in a glass case and emerging dripping wet in baggy red underpants. The Ford, watching clouds of smoke rise through green lights as Perry Farrell & Janes got us all so very high. Jane's closing the first LollaPalooza in Irvine with projected surf videos. Years and years later, Jane's Addiction again, with the girls on a teeter-totter during "Summertime Rolls".
Prince wearing high heels and pants that were entirely made of lace on the backside, with that pink fluffy stoll he wore to the Academy Awards the next year. The sound was so tight, so intense.
Talking Heads doing Remain In Light at the Palladium, once of the best "small" venues (this is where the concert in The Blues Brothers is filmed, although I never went to a show that had seats on the floor). A great place for dancing, and nice to have a stage that dominates the room.
Booker T and The MGS.
Nirvana at the godawful Forum, the best sound I've every heard in that barn, but I was luckily enough filming right up front and the security guards let me wander around.
I too have seen Tom Jones, at a party at Universal when the film Mars Attacks was released. He was magnificent, voice was still good, deeper, it was obvious he didn't have quite the moves but he would make these somewhat suggestive gestures (crotchally) and someone did throw panties. It was superb.
posted by winesong at 4:18 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Many years ago, my friends and I arrived late for the start of a Pink Floyd concert. As we ran from the far end of the parking lot towards the stadium we passed a tumbledown row of cinder blocks, just as they were playing a track from The Wall. Reader, there was chortling.
posted by CynicalKnight at 4:20 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by CynicalKnight at 4:20 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Artists I have seen three times?
U2, Pearl Jam, Indigo Girls, Carbon Leaf, Nine Inch Nails, The Polyphonic Spree, Amy Grant, Tool, Petra, The Resurrection Band [we're getting deep here]
posted by hippybear at 4:23 PM on October 24, 2023
U2, Pearl Jam, Indigo Girls, Carbon Leaf, Nine Inch Nails, The Polyphonic Spree, Amy Grant, Tool, Petra, The Resurrection Band [we're getting deep here]
posted by hippybear at 4:23 PM on October 24, 2023
for your convenience i have assembled a list of my current weird stands. you can read this list on my user page.
please consult as needed.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 4:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
please consult as needed.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 4:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
So awesome to see all these shows that have connected with everyone. As an old, I only recognize some of the bands...
But add Peter Gabriel to the list of artists I've wished I've seen. And the U2 at the Sphere shit has blown my mind. I did see Steely Dan at the Gorge, with Becker and Fagen, that was a good show. The Doors would have been a thing, but I would have been about 10, so...
I enjoy reading about people's bad shows though. Fall of '81, went up to Minneapolis to see the Go-Go's open for The Police on the Ghost in the Machine tour. Was pretty great. Didn't have the cash to go to the Devo show that came up next. Felt bad. All the people who went, HATED IT. Like 45 minutes long. Everyone who went felt ripped off.
My worst show? Probably the Commodores at Starlight in Kansas City. My GF at the time loved them, and pretty much the same as the Devo show. 45 minutes, with the last 15 or so being a medley of the songs they had already played...
OTOH, music is so awesome, and along with dogs, is part of what makes us human. Rock on everyone! \^^/
posted by Windopaene at 4:39 PM on October 24, 2023
But add Peter Gabriel to the list of artists I've wished I've seen. And the U2 at the Sphere shit has blown my mind. I did see Steely Dan at the Gorge, with Becker and Fagen, that was a good show. The Doors would have been a thing, but I would have been about 10, so...
I enjoy reading about people's bad shows though. Fall of '81, went up to Minneapolis to see the Go-Go's open for The Police on the Ghost in the Machine tour. Was pretty great. Didn't have the cash to go to the Devo show that came up next. Felt bad. All the people who went, HATED IT. Like 45 minutes long. Everyone who went felt ripped off.
My worst show? Probably the Commodores at Starlight in Kansas City. My GF at the time loved them, and pretty much the same as the Devo show. 45 minutes, with the last 15 or so being a medley of the songs they had already played...
OTOH, music is so awesome, and along with dogs, is part of what makes us human. Rock on everyone! \^^/
posted by Windopaene at 4:39 PM on October 24, 2023
If you're going ro The Fest this weekend and see a sad-eyed ginger at, say, the Paint it Black set come say what's up.
I will be in a very good mood.
posted by East14thTaco at 4:43 PM on October 24, 2023
I will be in a very good mood.
posted by East14thTaco at 4:43 PM on October 24, 2023
The best show I've ever been to was Weird Al. The guy really knows how to put on a concert.
Back in 1992 Weird Al came here to put on a concert. I'd always wanted to see him so of course I got my ticket. Even better - it was close to the house all the way down here on the south side! Five minutes drive. I could have walked but I didn't feel like walking back home through the desert late at night.
So, the bit about close to the house. There was a building that had been a very large department store. It was near a grocery store and... not much else. It was kind of away from everything and on the fringe of the city. The department store had closed years ago, leaving this ~200,000 square foot single level building vacant, just sitting there out in the desert. Someone had the big idea to turn this place into a huge nightclub. They also planned to book concerts, and lo and behold Weird Al was somehow booked there to play a show. I figured not only was it a chance to see Al live, but also to see what they had done with the place.
When I got there, I immediately saw that the nightclub idea was hilariously badly executed. It took up maybe a tenth of the building and they had to stretch things out to do that much. Apparently I was one of the few people who decided that going to that "nightclub" was worth it. The show began and there were not many people there at all. Weird Al was always hugely popular but even he couldn't get people to come out to that venue, and I honestly wonder if they had any idea just what kind of place they had booked. The advantage of all this, though, was that everyone was able to be right up at the stage. No seating needed, and it was just a big dance party up close and personal with Al and his absolutely fantastic band. At one point, Al said "you know, this has always been a big dream of mine, to play in front of 200 people in an abandoned dusty warehouse" and that got a huge whoop out of the crowd.
Small crowd and weird creepy venue be damned, they put on just one hell of a great show. I've seen him twice since then in better concert venues and with sold out crowds, but man that first experience was an absolute blast.
posted by azpenguin at 4:44 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
Back in 1992 Weird Al came here to put on a concert. I'd always wanted to see him so of course I got my ticket. Even better - it was close to the house all the way down here on the south side! Five minutes drive. I could have walked but I didn't feel like walking back home through the desert late at night.
So, the bit about close to the house. There was a building that had been a very large department store. It was near a grocery store and... not much else. It was kind of away from everything and on the fringe of the city. The department store had closed years ago, leaving this ~200,000 square foot single level building vacant, just sitting there out in the desert. Someone had the big idea to turn this place into a huge nightclub. They also planned to book concerts, and lo and behold Weird Al was somehow booked there to play a show. I figured not only was it a chance to see Al live, but also to see what they had done with the place.
When I got there, I immediately saw that the nightclub idea was hilariously badly executed. It took up maybe a tenth of the building and they had to stretch things out to do that much. Apparently I was one of the few people who decided that going to that "nightclub" was worth it. The show began and there were not many people there at all. Weird Al was always hugely popular but even he couldn't get people to come out to that venue, and I honestly wonder if they had any idea just what kind of place they had booked. The advantage of all this, though, was that everyone was able to be right up at the stage. No seating needed, and it was just a big dance party up close and personal with Al and his absolutely fantastic band. At one point, Al said "you know, this has always been a big dream of mine, to play in front of 200 people in an abandoned dusty warehouse" and that got a huge whoop out of the crowd.
Small crowd and weird creepy venue be damned, they put on just one hell of a great show. I've seen him twice since then in better concert venues and with sold out crowds, but man that first experience was an absolute blast.
posted by azpenguin at 4:44 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
If you're going ro The Fest this weekend and see a sad-eyed ginger at, say, the Paint it Black set come say what's up.
I will be in a very good mood.
The passphrase is "are you a Friend Of Matt"?
posted by hippybear at 4:45 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I will be in a very good mood.
The passphrase is "are you a Friend Of Matt"?
posted by hippybear at 4:45 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I was noodling over the idea of going to The Fest, but at my age I might need one of those "vitamin shots" they gave JFK.
Austin's Levitation fest is also this weekend. I'd be happy just going to the non-sold-out shows but I'm guessing everything will be pretty packed, though probably little moshing.
posted by credulous at 4:57 PM on October 24, 2023
Austin's Levitation fest is also this weekend. I'd be happy just going to the non-sold-out shows but I'm guessing everything will be pretty packed, though probably little moshing.
posted by credulous at 4:57 PM on October 24, 2023
Worst concert that you went to with your teenage brother? That would have to be ELO, where it was revealed in the newspaper a few days later that the musicians only mimed playing. And yet, Heart opened for them; they were great.
Or maybe the concert I went to where Christopher Cross opened. What a terrible curse on whoever was the headliner: I don't remember you, but I remember Christopher Cross.
posted by acrasis at 4:58 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Or maybe the concert I went to where Christopher Cross opened. What a terrible curse on whoever was the headliner: I don't remember you, but I remember Christopher Cross.
posted by acrasis at 4:58 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Every time I've seen The Mountain Goats it was revelatory. Seeing my wife, who was not really a fan of the band, tear up to "You Were Cool" was pretty great because, yeah, that's a song we can both connect with. Sweating in a small room, screaming out the lyrics to "This Year" with a bunch of other folks... I was never a pop music guy growing up, so feeling this way about an artist in my adulthood was a pretty great feeling. Like I finally got why people were so gaga about bands.
posted by signsofrain at 5:01 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by signsofrain at 5:01 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
God bless Bowie: 1999 he performed an awesome and charming set of Hunky Dory deep cuts & various groovy back catalog pieces with excellent live sound. Wow! My friends dragged me out because I thought he was past his prime and I didn't feel like going (I was wrong).
1980 HeatWave Festival headed by Talking Heads (moar driven and heated than in Stop Makin' Sense). 1982 Black Uhuru had a deep sound-system. 1984 Floyd had a cool quad sound-system. 2002 Bjork (in a park) was the first time I saw big pryros & timed fireworks (now more common I guess). (various intense punky club gigs over the years, of course).
First hockey arena show was 1977 Rush & Max Webster, fun times.
posted by ovvl at 5:01 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
1980 HeatWave Festival headed by Talking Heads (moar driven and heated than in Stop Makin' Sense). 1982 Black Uhuru had a deep sound-system. 1984 Floyd had a cool quad sound-system. 2002 Bjork (in a park) was the first time I saw big pryros & timed fireworks (now more common I guess). (various intense punky club gigs over the years, of course).
First hockey arena show was 1977 Rush & Max Webster, fun times.
posted by ovvl at 5:01 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I saw Christopher Cross doing Beatles covers with Alan Parsons, Jack Bruce, and Mark Farner. Though sadly I think I missed the Ann Wilson dates.
posted by credulous at 5:06 PM on October 24, 2023
posted by credulous at 5:06 PM on October 24, 2023
Most trouble I've had at a concert? Bob Mould. Almost got the shit kicked out of me just craning over the people in front of me to see the show.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 5:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 5:10 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
First show: Santana at the Greek theater in Berkeley (1977-8-ish)
Best show: (tie) Van Morrison with James Brown Horn Section, Ravi Shankar and family. Both had me walking 10 feet off the ground.
posted by doctor_negative at 5:12 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best show: (tie) Van Morrison with James Brown Horn Section, Ravi Shankar and family. Both had me walking 10 feet off the ground.
posted by doctor_negative at 5:12 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Most trouble I've had at a concert?
I almost got the shit kicked out of me a Fishbone concert for absolutely no reason. Luckily the guy who wanted to kick my ass was talked out of it by his friend. If he hadn't been, I wouldn't have stood a chance.
posted by mollweide at 5:13 PM on October 24, 2023
I almost got the shit kicked out of me a Fishbone concert for absolutely no reason. Luckily the guy who wanted to kick my ass was talked out of it by his friend. If he hadn't been, I wouldn't have stood a chance.
posted by mollweide at 5:13 PM on October 24, 2023
Not much of a concert goer, if you discount classical. But I did manage to catch both Janis Joplin and the Rolling Stones in the late 60's while in college. Oh, and Peter, Paul and Mary a week after MLK was assassinated..
posted by jim in austin at 5:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by jim in austin at 5:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Ooh, I have one bad concert story...
Outdoor concert at my college every spring. I think we had Modern English and NRBQ that day.
I might have been tripping balls...
Guy from, I assume, the school across town, we had two, was holding hands with his girlfriend and spinning her around. I thought this was kind of rude as they were knocking people around. So I stuck out my elbow. She got plowed into it. Now, I am not a big fella, and the boyfriend was shorter than me, but he took offense, as one probably should. And came up to me, looking for a fight. And looked at my dilated pupils, and decided, was probably not a great idea to bust me up. Not my finest moment...
posted by Windopaene at 5:25 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Outdoor concert at my college every spring. I think we had Modern English and NRBQ that day.
I might have been tripping balls...
Guy from, I assume, the school across town, we had two, was holding hands with his girlfriend and spinning her around. I thought this was kind of rude as they were knocking people around. So I stuck out my elbow. She got plowed into it. Now, I am not a big fella, and the boyfriend was shorter than me, but he took offense, as one probably should. And came up to me, looking for a fight. And looked at my dilated pupils, and decided, was probably not a great idea to bust me up. Not my finest moment...
posted by Windopaene at 5:25 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
First concert: may have been Crystal Gayle? I was a wee kid and I seem to recall she performed before a soccer game or something.
Craziest concert moment: They Might Be Giants in St Louis during Mardi Gras when it was well below freezing. John Linell said "if we kind of suck tonight it's because we can't feel our fingers." They didn't, but the audience was standing on a muddy frozen field and barely able to stay upright, and some stupid drunks acted like it was their personal mosh pit until a young woman in front of me got sick of it and decked one of them.
Particularly memorable show: Skinny Puppy Eye Vs. Spy tour, with Front Line Assembly, Haujobb and Youth Code opening.
Most recent: several performances at Knobcon 11 (a synthesizer convention). Best performers (IMHO) were TamiX, Space Racer, Dub Station Zero, Vamp Acid, POB.
Live shows I performed in:
- I played violin throughout middle and high school, as well as in the Florida West Coast Youth Symphony. So there were several recitals/concerts.
- Played Rhodes (poorly) in the (terrible) high school jazz band for one year, we had a couple of shows.
- Some drum circles, if that counts.
- Was a performing member of St. Louis Osuwa Taiko for a couple of years. Played a few festivals and other gigs where our audiences were in the hundreds, and several more with dozens or random street fair stuff.
posted by Foosnark at 5:30 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Craziest concert moment: They Might Be Giants in St Louis during Mardi Gras when it was well below freezing. John Linell said "if we kind of suck tonight it's because we can't feel our fingers." They didn't, but the audience was standing on a muddy frozen field and barely able to stay upright, and some stupid drunks acted like it was their personal mosh pit until a young woman in front of me got sick of it and decked one of them.
Particularly memorable show: Skinny Puppy Eye Vs. Spy tour, with Front Line Assembly, Haujobb and Youth Code opening.
Most recent: several performances at Knobcon 11 (a synthesizer convention). Best performers (IMHO) were TamiX, Space Racer, Dub Station Zero, Vamp Acid, POB.
Live shows I performed in:
- I played violin throughout middle and high school, as well as in the Florida West Coast Youth Symphony. So there were several recitals/concerts.
- Played Rhodes (poorly) in the (terrible) high school jazz band for one year, we had a couple of shows.
- Some drum circles, if that counts.
- Was a performing member of St. Louis Osuwa Taiko for a couple of years. Played a few festivals and other gigs where our audiences were in the hundreds, and several more with dozens or random street fair stuff.
posted by Foosnark at 5:30 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Ooh, I have one bad concert story...Oh, you don't say!
I might have been tripping balls...
posted by Windopaene
posted by hippybear at 5:48 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First show: John Denver, maybe 1974 or 1975. (I refuse to be embarrassed about this.)
I saw him in 1982. He was wonderful. Such a beautiful voice.
posted by JanetLand at 5:52 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
I saw him in 1982. He was wonderful. Such a beautiful voice.
posted by JanetLand at 5:52 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First: RATT with Kix opening
Oh, man, I miss seeing Kix at the Bayou in Georgetown. Such a great, tiny venue and they always brought their A game.
Worst show?
Either Cinderella opening for Aerosmith (Cinderella's drummer puked and passed out 20 minutes into their set, and Aerosmith phoned in about an hour of stuff) or Cocteau Twins at DAR Constitution Hall in DC (the Hall's acoustics did NOT go well with the Twins' multi-layered musical style and it was all just a muddy mess).
posted by hanov3r at 5:55 PM on October 24, 2023
Oh, man, I miss seeing Kix at the Bayou in Georgetown. Such a great, tiny venue and they always brought their A game.
Worst show?
Either Cinderella opening for Aerosmith (Cinderella's drummer puked and passed out 20 minutes into their set, and Aerosmith phoned in about an hour of stuff) or Cocteau Twins at DAR Constitution Hall in DC (the Hall's acoustics did NOT go well with the Twins' multi-layered musical style and it was all just a muddy mess).
posted by hanov3r at 5:55 PM on October 24, 2023
First show: John Denver, maybe 1974 or 1975. (I refuse to be embarrassed about this.)
I saw him in 1982. He was wonderful. Such a beautiful voice.
More than that, it can be argued that John Denver was for the US culture the same voice that The Beatles was for UK culture, promoting local values while simultaneously expanding to a more universal acceptance and message.
posted by hippybear at 5:57 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I saw him in 1982. He was wonderful. Such a beautiful voice.
More than that, it can be argued that John Denver was for the US culture the same voice that The Beatles was for UK culture, promoting local values while simultaneously expanding to a more universal acceptance and message.
posted by hippybear at 5:57 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
First live show: Gyllene Tider (legendary Swedish band fronted by the male member of Roxette) at the school auditorium in tiny Övik, northern Sweden, in March 1984. I still have the autographs I got afterwards, when Per stole my pen!
Most recent: Elliot Lee and Joywave in Towson, Maryland this past March. Haven’t been to any shows for a bit here, but have quite a few coming up in 2024.
Most shows by one band would be Muse: 19, Joywave: 8, Metric: 6, Lyle Lovett: 5, Tool: 4. (One of These Things Is Not Like the Others, lol)
Most memorable: The Tibetan Freedom Concert at RFK in 1998, both due to the bands (like REM, Radiohead, and Pearl Jam), as well as the lightning strike that made us evacuate the stadium. Also memorable was my first show in the US, which was Def Leppard at a stadium (the Omni?) in Atlanta sometime in the fall of 1988. Also the first time I was on the barrier for a Muse show in 2007, which was so good it made me cry.
Worst show? Sadly, U2 during the Zoo TV tour which was just boooring with bad sound. Also bummed that I missed REM at some little club in Athens before they hit it big. We walked by outside. I wanted to go in and listen, but my friends were too focused on going someplace else so we just walked past…
Live shows are the best! Can’t wait for my next one in November!
posted by gemmy at 5:58 PM on October 24, 2023
Most recent: Elliot Lee and Joywave in Towson, Maryland this past March. Haven’t been to any shows for a bit here, but have quite a few coming up in 2024.
Most shows by one band would be Muse: 19, Joywave: 8, Metric: 6, Lyle Lovett: 5, Tool: 4. (One of These Things Is Not Like the Others, lol)
Most memorable: The Tibetan Freedom Concert at RFK in 1998, both due to the bands (like REM, Radiohead, and Pearl Jam), as well as the lightning strike that made us evacuate the stadium. Also memorable was my first show in the US, which was Def Leppard at a stadium (the Omni?) in Atlanta sometime in the fall of 1988. Also the first time I was on the barrier for a Muse show in 2007, which was so good it made me cry.
Worst show? Sadly, U2 during the Zoo TV tour which was just boooring with bad sound. Also bummed that I missed REM at some little club in Athens before they hit it big. We walked by outside. I wanted to go in and listen, but my friends were too focused on going someplace else so we just walked past…
Live shows are the best! Can’t wait for my next one in November!
posted by gemmy at 5:58 PM on October 24, 2023
Concerts Where the Opening Band Blew The Headliner Out of the Water
Garbage opening for a very jaded Smashing Pumpkins at Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
Artists I have seen three times
Sonic Youth, though never when they were very young
posted by swift at 6:18 PM on October 24, 2023
Garbage opening for a very jaded Smashing Pumpkins at Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
Artists I have seen three times
Sonic Youth, though never when they were very young
posted by swift at 6:18 PM on October 24, 2023
Sonic Youth, though never when they were very young
Sonic Elderly isn't selling as many tickets.
posted by hippybear at 6:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Sonic Elderly isn't selling as many tickets.
posted by hippybear at 6:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
saw janelle monaé open for of montreal back in the day, i think right before archandroid dropped? i got a poster for the show, because it's practically like having a poster from the tour where jimi hendrix opened for the monkees.
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 6:24 PM on October 24, 2023
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 6:24 PM on October 24, 2023
First non-family-oriented show I went to: Bad Brains and DRI at the Farm in '86. Wandering into my first Punk Club and thinking "yep, this is where I belong". (Helps that Bad Brains were on fire that night).
Random show/concert memories include: Seeing the Cramps twice, once when Greg Shaw had just died and they dedicated "Psychotic Reaction" to him (also where Lux's pants and underpants (if he had the latter) were torn off by the end of the show). Bauhaus twice last year, once at Cruel World, the other at the Masonic (where we were much closer to the stage). Jay Reatard doing a free show at Amoeba, which was the first date with my now-long-time GF (or partner as you'd probably call it at this point). Korla Pandit at Bimbo's, back when the Lounge movement was still going strong and almost everyone in the club was dressed to the nines in their most colorful gear.
Worst band: The Shatners (a.k.a. the Counting Crows under a pseudonym) when they opened up for Big Star. I was swaying to keep myself awake during their set. (I had gotten a good spot, so leaving and coming back when they were done was not an option)
Most recent bands seen: Sun Ra Arkestra doing a "swing night" (Marshall Allen had to stay back home, but he's in his frigging 90's so no worries); Boris; and a "Noise Pancakes" show (where folks eat pancakes cooked on site and watch noise artists perform) over a month ago. (Had to miss both the Black Angels and the Adverts, alas).
Weirdest show in retrospect: when Firefall (or at least some version thereof) played my middle school for some school event. Don't know how that came about, though the teachers probably enjoyed it more than the kids.
posted by gtrwolf at 6:26 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Random show/concert memories include: Seeing the Cramps twice, once when Greg Shaw had just died and they dedicated "Psychotic Reaction" to him (also where Lux's pants and underpants (if he had the latter) were torn off by the end of the show). Bauhaus twice last year, once at Cruel World, the other at the Masonic (where we were much closer to the stage). Jay Reatard doing a free show at Amoeba, which was the first date with my now-long-time GF (or partner as you'd probably call it at this point). Korla Pandit at Bimbo's, back when the Lounge movement was still going strong and almost everyone in the club was dressed to the nines in their most colorful gear.
Worst band: The Shatners (a.k.a. the Counting Crows under a pseudonym) when they opened up for Big Star. I was swaying to keep myself awake during their set. (I had gotten a good spot, so leaving and coming back when they were done was not an option)
Most recent bands seen: Sun Ra Arkestra doing a "swing night" (Marshall Allen had to stay back home, but he's in his frigging 90's so no worries); Boris; and a "Noise Pancakes" show (where folks eat pancakes cooked on site and watch noise artists perform) over a month ago. (Had to miss both the Black Angels and the Adverts, alas).
Weirdest show in retrospect: when Firefall (or at least some version thereof) played my middle school for some school event. Don't know how that came about, though the teachers probably enjoyed it more than the kids.
posted by gtrwolf at 6:26 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I saw Mephiskapheles at an all ages show in a basement club in Northampton, Mass. in about 1997. They definitely played Bumblebee Tuna.
Also, apparently the band is still touring. Which boggles my mind.
posted by that's candlepin at 6:27 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Also, apparently the band is still touring. Which boggles my mind.
posted by that's candlepin at 6:27 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
> Janelle Monae at the Hollywood Bowl when Stevie Wonder showed up. I've seen her them 3x and she they always puts put on an amazing show but getting Stevie out there was surreal
ftfy
(also though i keep misgendering them too on and off — i'm working on it!)
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 6:29 PM on October 24, 2023
ftfy
(also though i keep misgendering them too on and off — i'm working on it!)
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 6:29 PM on October 24, 2023
I saw James McMurtry last year at a small club in a Chicago suburb. I was at the riser all night, and he came up to the front and did "Blackberry Winter" with no amplification or accompaniment. I doubt you could have heard id 20 feet away, it was fantastic.
I saw Bruce Hornsby last week at the Pabst in Milwaukee, fifth row, and I'm so glad I went to that show. It was him solo (without his band) and he took songs apart and put them back together and mixed them together in interesting ways. A master of his craft.
posted by wintermind at 6:32 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I saw Bruce Hornsby last week at the Pabst in Milwaukee, fifth row, and I'm so glad I went to that show. It was him solo (without his band) and he took songs apart and put them back together and mixed them together in interesting ways. A master of his craft.
posted by wintermind at 6:32 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I saw the Joni Jam in June. Joni is my first my last my everything and I never thought I’d see her live. I am so so grateful.
And I’ve seen Bruce 17? times. Nobody does it like him, still. This last tour was full of grief and aging and some of those songs hit like a sledgehammer.
posted by wemayfreeze at 6:49 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
And I’ve seen Bruce 17? times. Nobody does it like him, still. This last tour was full of grief and aging and some of those songs hit like a sledgehammer.
posted by wemayfreeze at 6:49 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Gosh, this thread brings back memories. First:
Also, once I was randomly wandering around Helsinki and stumbled across Vartinna doing a free show in a park.
My immediate thought on opening this thread was how the best show I’ve ever seen was probably Värttinä. Tickled that they came up here before I got to it.
Other concert moments that stick in my heart:
- The Magnetic Fields at the Old Town School of Folk Music, probably my favorite venue anywhere. Seeing Stephin Merritt wince and stick his finger in his ear every time he got applause, which was always, because he’s so damn talented, poor guy.
- Every time Ben Folds does an audience singalong - how is it his audiences are always so musically gifted?
- The band I’ve seen most is probably TMBG, and my most “I feel like I was at an Event” show was their 20th anniversary gig in Central Park. They were also one of the first bands I saw (wanna say it was the Factory Showroom show at Fells Point) and I think I still have a piece of confetti from the confetti cannon.
- The other band I’ve seen most is this klezmer act in my town that I just love to pieces.
- I love it when I go to a show on a whim and I get hooked. Happened for me with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, at our civic center, and with Girlyman, at this nice bar/event space in my neighborhood, and maybe also with Low at that same bar.
- I was a music major in college and as such I could get extremely cheap tickets to the world class orchestra in town and I Did Not take advantage of this nearly often enough but I did hear them play Mahler V.
- The furthest I’ve ever traveled to see a show was when Mr. eirias bought surprise tickets to see a Canadian Brass Christmas show at a college in Iowa. Worth it.
- I’ve been to more than one show I had to leave because it was so loud I could no longer feel my own heartbeat. I hate it so much, ugh.
posted by eirias at 6:50 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Also, once I was randomly wandering around Helsinki and stumbled across Vartinna doing a free show in a park.
My immediate thought on opening this thread was how the best show I’ve ever seen was probably Värttinä. Tickled that they came up here before I got to it.
Other concert moments that stick in my heart:
- The Magnetic Fields at the Old Town School of Folk Music, probably my favorite venue anywhere. Seeing Stephin Merritt wince and stick his finger in his ear every time he got applause, which was always, because he’s so damn talented, poor guy.
- Every time Ben Folds does an audience singalong - how is it his audiences are always so musically gifted?
- The band I’ve seen most is probably TMBG, and my most “I feel like I was at an Event” show was their 20th anniversary gig in Central Park. They were also one of the first bands I saw (wanna say it was the Factory Showroom show at Fells Point) and I think I still have a piece of confetti from the confetti cannon.
- The other band I’ve seen most is this klezmer act in my town that I just love to pieces.
- I love it when I go to a show on a whim and I get hooked. Happened for me with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, at our civic center, and with Girlyman, at this nice bar/event space in my neighborhood, and maybe also with Low at that same bar.
- I was a music major in college and as such I could get extremely cheap tickets to the world class orchestra in town and I Did Not take advantage of this nearly often enough but I did hear them play Mahler V.
- The furthest I’ve ever traveled to see a show was when Mr. eirias bought surprise tickets to see a Canadian Brass Christmas show at a college in Iowa. Worth it.
- I’ve been to more than one show I had to leave because it was so loud I could no longer feel my own heartbeat. I hate it so much, ugh.
posted by eirias at 6:50 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
First concert: early 1960s—The Beach Boys
Concert of note: 1965 or 66—Bob Dylan—first set was solo acoustic and second set with The Band
Worst concert: The Rolling Stones—came on well over an hour late too fucked up to put on a decent show
Best double bill: Stevie Wonder opened for The Rolling Stones—both stellar performances
Musicians seen at least 3 times: Josh Ritter, Bruce Springsteen, Gordon Lightfoot, Luke Concannon, Parsonsfield
posted by Scout405 at 6:54 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Concert of note: 1965 or 66—Bob Dylan—first set was solo acoustic and second set with The Band
Worst concert: The Rolling Stones—came on well over an hour late too fucked up to put on a decent show
Best double bill: Stevie Wonder opened for The Rolling Stones—both stellar performances
Musicians seen at least 3 times: Josh Ritter, Bruce Springsteen, Gordon Lightfoot, Luke Concannon, Parsonsfield
posted by Scout405 at 6:54 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Good to see some metal fans here! Someone mentioned Suicidal Tendencies/Queensryche, I think that was the tour I saw. Queensryche played the entire Operation: Mindcrime album which I was obsessed with, and it was a religious experience.
Surprised to see Strapping Young Lad mentioned as well, I saw them on the Alien tour. Devy never fails to entertain.
First concert I paid for was the first Monsters of Rock tour at Alpine Valley, May 27th, 1988. Kingdom Come, Dokken, Scorpions, Metallica, and Van Halen. Dokken's George Lynch was my favorite guitar player so that was awesome. Scorpions put on a hell of a show. Metallica played Harvester of Sorrow off of the yet-to-be-released new album And Justice For All. And of course EVH. So good.
The last concert I saw was Willie Nelson at the Outlaw Music Festival in June. He was a bucket list show for me so that was great. Plus I got to see Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. I was too young to ever see Led Zep but I got to see him sing Rock n Roll so that was nice.
No idea how many shows I've been to. I'm going to go to concertarchives.org and see what I can remember.
posted by Billy Rubin at 6:57 PM on October 24, 2023
Surprised to see Strapping Young Lad mentioned as well, I saw them on the Alien tour. Devy never fails to entertain.
First concert I paid for was the first Monsters of Rock tour at Alpine Valley, May 27th, 1988. Kingdom Come, Dokken, Scorpions, Metallica, and Van Halen. Dokken's George Lynch was my favorite guitar player so that was awesome. Scorpions put on a hell of a show. Metallica played Harvester of Sorrow off of the yet-to-be-released new album And Justice For All. And of course EVH. So good.
The last concert I saw was Willie Nelson at the Outlaw Music Festival in June. He was a bucket list show for me so that was great. Plus I got to see Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. I was too young to ever see Led Zep but I got to see him sing Rock n Roll so that was nice.
No idea how many shows I've been to. I'm going to go to concertarchives.org and see what I can remember.
posted by Billy Rubin at 6:57 PM on October 24, 2023
I saw the Joni Jam in June. Joni is my first my last my everything and I never thought I’d see her live. I am so so grateful.
This comment just made me cry out of gratitude for the Universe. I am so happy you got to be there for that. Thanks to whatever deserves thanks.
posted by hippybear at 7:04 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
This comment just made me cry out of gratitude for the Universe. I am so happy you got to be there for that. Thanks to whatever deserves thanks.
posted by hippybear at 7:04 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
My first concert was Kalapalooza in 1994, two nights of local bands, seven each night, at the State Theater. I've forgotten most of the bands, but I saw Screwtape, The Erj, Rollinghead, Thought Industry, Twitch, and a little band called Verve Pipe (though I think they were still called Johnny with an I at that point).
My first concert, my first mosh pit. I got kicked in the shin in the same spot a whole hell of a lot the first night. The second night, right after going back in the pit, it happened again, and I made the wise decision to head back to the seats for the rest of the show.
Parts of the show stick with me, probably nothing more than the members of Screwtape (they were awesome, really) running onstage during the ridiculously long guitar solo of the heavy metal band that came on a couple sets later, and singing the refrain of one of their bigger songs. The heavy metal band seemed kind of pissed, and Screwtape ran off the stage smiling and laughing. I mean, it was kind of a shitty thing to do, but by that point, I think everyone was ready for the next band, anyway.
That show was also the start of a little tradition for me, getting dropped off at the show but finding my own way home. 14 year old lil Ghidorah (though most people assumed I was older) walking up to complete strangers, people I'd made eye contact with during the show, or chatted with, and asking if I could get a ride. I always managed to find someone who'd say yes. The best rides were the ones with stops along the way, like hanging out until 3am in the gothic cemetery on West Main near Henderson Castle after the Concrete Blonde show, or riding around town in the back bench seat of a Plymouth Galaxy with bad shocks, lousy brakes, and an uncomfortable smell of gasoline wafting around the eight of us crammed in the car on the way back from Wings Stadium and the Nirvana show.
The level of freedom I was allowed to do incredibly stupid things is something I can't imagine many kids get these days. That, and I was lucky as hell to have never gotten in the wrong car, but goddamn, between 14 and 17 (when I moved to live with other family), I got to see so many bands, and meet so many random people.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:04 PM on October 24, 2023
My first concert, my first mosh pit. I got kicked in the shin in the same spot a whole hell of a lot the first night. The second night, right after going back in the pit, it happened again, and I made the wise decision to head back to the seats for the rest of the show.
Parts of the show stick with me, probably nothing more than the members of Screwtape (they were awesome, really) running onstage during the ridiculously long guitar solo of the heavy metal band that came on a couple sets later, and singing the refrain of one of their bigger songs. The heavy metal band seemed kind of pissed, and Screwtape ran off the stage smiling and laughing. I mean, it was kind of a shitty thing to do, but by that point, I think everyone was ready for the next band, anyway.
That show was also the start of a little tradition for me, getting dropped off at the show but finding my own way home. 14 year old lil Ghidorah (though most people assumed I was older) walking up to complete strangers, people I'd made eye contact with during the show, or chatted with, and asking if I could get a ride. I always managed to find someone who'd say yes. The best rides were the ones with stops along the way, like hanging out until 3am in the gothic cemetery on West Main near Henderson Castle after the Concrete Blonde show, or riding around town in the back bench seat of a Plymouth Galaxy with bad shocks, lousy brakes, and an uncomfortable smell of gasoline wafting around the eight of us crammed in the car on the way back from Wings Stadium and the Nirvana show.
The level of freedom I was allowed to do incredibly stupid things is something I can't imagine many kids get these days. That, and I was lucky as hell to have never gotten in the wrong car, but goddamn, between 14 and 17 (when I moved to live with other family), I got to see so many bands, and meet so many random people.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:04 PM on October 24, 2023
Skid Row opened for Aerosmith in December 1989 at the Richmond Coliseum. My parents were hosting a big Christmas party that same night and they were highly annoyed that I wanted to do something different.
I've definitely performed live, though not "sit in with the band" style. My band has been together for almost 15 years now. We're slowing down a bit, but we're not stopping.
I think by now I've probably seen Josh Ritter perform the most often, the best of which was a sold-out 930 Club show in DC.
Memorable shows: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, right up front, outdoors on a sweltering summer day. Early Ben Folds Five, plus multiple solo Ben Folds shows. The Grateful Dead while Jerry was still around, in 1994. Not at all memorable for the music, but it was their 50th performance at the (then) Spectrum in Philadelphia.
posted by emelenjr at 7:17 PM on October 24, 2023
I've definitely performed live, though not "sit in with the band" style. My band has been together for almost 15 years now. We're slowing down a bit, but we're not stopping.
I think by now I've probably seen Josh Ritter perform the most often, the best of which was a sold-out 930 Club show in DC.
Memorable shows: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, right up front, outdoors on a sweltering summer day. Early Ben Folds Five, plus multiple solo Ben Folds shows. The Grateful Dead while Jerry was still around, in 1994. Not at all memorable for the music, but it was their 50th performance at the (then) Spectrum in Philadelphia.
posted by emelenjr at 7:17 PM on October 24, 2023
A few years ago I decided to create a spreadsheet and then started logging things going forward from there. It goes back to 1993
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BM1gEDosLuVdOOC_m6Z2e8skTqDqM81R2hF97NnWD-s/edit?usp=sharing
posted by anazgnos at 7:18 PM on October 24, 2023
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BM1gEDosLuVdOOC_m6Z2e8skTqDqM81R2hF97NnWD-s/edit?usp=sharing
posted by anazgnos at 7:18 PM on October 24, 2023
Most recent live concert: I just walked in the door from a live concert - the Palm Beach State College Tuesday Nite Big Band, in which my son is the drummer.
I have seen some great arena/stadium shows: Grateful Dead a few times in the 80s, REM in 1988 with Indigo Girls opening. Rush several times over the 90s, 00s and 10s - my favorite show of theirs was Time Machine but R40 was also awesome. I don't really see wanting to deal with the hassle of a large-venue show again at this stage in my life, especially as Rush is no longer with us.
Some of my favorite shows have been in small venues: Phish at Mabel's in Champaign, IL in 1991 and King Crimson at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC in 2003.
As a performer I like to frequent open mics, my next one will be this Thursday at the Brewhouse Gallery in Lake Park, FL.
posted by Daily Alice at 7:24 PM on October 24, 2023
I have seen some great arena/stadium shows: Grateful Dead a few times in the 80s, REM in 1988 with Indigo Girls opening. Rush several times over the 90s, 00s and 10s - my favorite show of theirs was Time Machine but R40 was also awesome. I don't really see wanting to deal with the hassle of a large-venue show again at this stage in my life, especially as Rush is no longer with us.
Some of my favorite shows have been in small venues: Phish at Mabel's in Champaign, IL in 1991 and King Crimson at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC in 2003.
As a performer I like to frequent open mics, my next one will be this Thursday at the Brewhouse Gallery in Lake Park, FL.
posted by Daily Alice at 7:24 PM on October 24, 2023
First concert I paid for was the first Monsters of Rock tour at Alpine Valley, May 27th, 1988. Kingdom Come, Dokken, Scorpions, Metallica, and Van Halen.
I saw that tour in Oxford, ME! My first time seeing Metallica. It poured on us so we left after Dokken. Spent four hours trying to get out of the parking lot. Not seeing Van Halen was one of my biggest regrets.
I saw the Joni Jam in June. Joni is my first my last my everything and I never thought I’d see her live. I am so so grateful.
I am a Celisse Henderson fan so I was so happy she got to play with Joni, one of her heroes.
posted by bondcliff at 7:26 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I saw that tour in Oxford, ME! My first time seeing Metallica. It poured on us so we left after Dokken. Spent four hours trying to get out of the parking lot. Not seeing Van Halen was one of my biggest regrets.
I saw the Joni Jam in June. Joni is my first my last my everything and I never thought I’d see her live. I am so so grateful.
I am a Celisse Henderson fan so I was so happy she got to play with Joni, one of her heroes.
posted by bondcliff at 7:26 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
The first concert I went to was Slade, in a hockey arena. Don't laugh. I didn't know anything about them, and I won the tickets from the radio station. I was maybe 15 years old.
Memorable concerts were:
- I saw David Bowie on the Heroes tour. Frankly, I didn't "get" his music until later.
- The Butthole Surfers. I knew to bring a set of boiler-blowdown earplugs from work. This was after they stopped using the naked woman singer with the steel teeth, but they did project the penis surgery films onto the backdrop.
- David Byrne at a swanky lounge in New York City. It was advertised to be a solo show, but he brought John Cale out to perform with him.
- Direktiv 17 did a record release concert to support their self-titled first album at Lee's Palace. The record company screwed up and didn't manufacture the records in time, so the band did not have any records to release. Andy Maize brought a bunch of cheap used 12" LPs from the second-hand store and did a "record release" by frisbee'ing them around the stage.
- Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens didn't let a deluge of rain stop them from putting on a really high-energy show.
- The last big arena concert I saw was The Cure, about 15 years ago. (Yikes! Already!) They put on a really professional show, that covered songs from their entire career.
- The most disappointing concert was when my housemate insisted that we go see Sheila Chandra at WOMAD in 1993. She played on a stage way at the back of the concert venue, and played only three songs. By the time we walked from the gate to the stage, she had already finished her set.
I am sure I will think of some more.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:27 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Memorable concerts were:
- I saw David Bowie on the Heroes tour. Frankly, I didn't "get" his music until later.
- The Butthole Surfers. I knew to bring a set of boiler-blowdown earplugs from work. This was after they stopped using the naked woman singer with the steel teeth, but they did project the penis surgery films onto the backdrop.
- David Byrne at a swanky lounge in New York City. It was advertised to be a solo show, but he brought John Cale out to perform with him.
- Direktiv 17 did a record release concert to support their self-titled first album at Lee's Palace. The record company screwed up and didn't manufacture the records in time, so the band did not have any records to release. Andy Maize brought a bunch of cheap used 12" LPs from the second-hand store and did a "record release" by frisbee'ing them around the stage.
- Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens didn't let a deluge of rain stop them from putting on a really high-energy show.
- The last big arena concert I saw was The Cure, about 15 years ago. (Yikes! Already!) They put on a really professional show, that covered songs from their entire career.
- The most disappointing concert was when my housemate insisted that we go see Sheila Chandra at WOMAD in 1993. She played on a stage way at the back of the concert venue, and played only three songs. By the time we walked from the gate to the stage, she had already finished her set.
I am sure I will think of some more.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:27 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
For two seasons I worked as security at an outdoor music venue. Saw a lot of concerts, including an annual "benefit" concert with some truly entitled folks in attendance. (Not the performers, who were amazing; but the audience members. They were of the staunch opinion that their garbage was gold-plated and their sewage stinketh not.)
Acts whose concerts I worked included Sting, Annie Lenox, Maroon 5, Phish, Indigo Girls, Eddie Vedder, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Coldplay, Kenny Chesney, The Grateful Dead, and a lot of other acts that I've bluntly forgotten because there were so many. But my personal highlight was when I was tasked to the soundboard, which was on the concrete walkway between the primary seating and secondary seating. I was standing, facing outward (facing the stage) so that I could keep gently shooing away the rabid enthusiasts who wanted to know Every Last Detail about the equipment...for Peter Gabriel. I effectively got paid to watch a Peter Gabriel concert while babysitting a sound-pit. That was pretty nice.
I don't go to concerts much any more because of the crowds, and because I'm autistic so I'm incredibly picky about wanting to hear the songs played in the way I expect, which is kind of antithetical to a live-concert experience.
posted by Tailkinker to-Ennien at 7:41 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Acts whose concerts I worked included Sting, Annie Lenox, Maroon 5, Phish, Indigo Girls, Eddie Vedder, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Coldplay, Kenny Chesney, The Grateful Dead, and a lot of other acts that I've bluntly forgotten because there were so many. But my personal highlight was when I was tasked to the soundboard, which was on the concrete walkway between the primary seating and secondary seating. I was standing, facing outward (facing the stage) so that I could keep gently shooing away the rabid enthusiasts who wanted to know Every Last Detail about the equipment...for Peter Gabriel. I effectively got paid to watch a Peter Gabriel concert while babysitting a sound-pit. That was pretty nice.
I don't go to concerts much any more because of the crowds, and because I'm autistic so I'm incredibly picky about wanting to hear the songs played in the way I expect, which is kind of antithetical to a live-concert experience.
posted by Tailkinker to-Ennien at 7:41 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I never went to all that many concerts, and all of them in the 1980s and 1990s.
Concerts Where the Opening Band Blew The Headliner Out of the Water:
School of Fish opened for Paul Westerberg...I have no memory of Westerberg at all, but SoF sounded great. This was probably at "Under the Rail" in Seattle in 1993.
Best show I ever saw was probably PJ Harvey at the same venue (?) in (I would guess) 1997. The opening act was a band called Moonshake who put on the single worst performance I have ever seen.
My first concert was Journey with The Outfield opening for them in 1986 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. I remember being underwhelmed, especially since we were not bright enough to go for "festival seating".
posted by maxwelton at 7:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Concerts Where the Opening Band Blew The Headliner Out of the Water:
School of Fish opened for Paul Westerberg...I have no memory of Westerberg at all, but SoF sounded great. This was probably at "Under the Rail" in Seattle in 1993.
Best show I ever saw was probably PJ Harvey at the same venue (?) in (I would guess) 1997. The opening act was a band called Moonshake who put on the single worst performance I have ever seen.
My first concert was Journey with The Outfield opening for them in 1986 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. I remember being underwhelmed, especially since we were not bright enough to go for "festival seating".
posted by maxwelton at 7:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah and I was the one who taught Mary Prankster how to tune her guitar.
posted by chronkite at 7:55 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by chronkite at 7:55 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
i keep misgendering [Janelle Monae] too on and off
Quoting Ms Monae from the LA Times, “My pronouns are free-ass motherfucker - and they/them, her/she.”
posted by hanov3r at 7:56 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Quoting Ms Monae from the LA Times, “My pronouns are free-ass motherfucker - and they/them, her/she.”
posted by hanov3r at 7:56 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Other random concert events since then: seeing Ani Difranco as the headliner of a weeklong series of shows highlighting indie artists. The Japanese band GO!GO!7188 opened up for her, and blew me away. Think the 5678s in Kill Bill, but with a harder, rockier edge, and better vocals. Their fans were filling the venue, singing along to all the songs, chanting and cheering in all the right spots. When the band was done, though, nearly all of their fans left, too. Difranco came on to the stage in a venue that holds 1500-2000 people, and there were maybe a couple hundred of us left, standing on the floor in front of the stage. She laughed, talked up GO!GO! as a great band, and played a hell of a show, with everyone there singing along. Goddamn, that was a good show.
In a seaside park in the suburbia I've found myself, a friend told me about a show in the park's bandshell. On a random Saturday in May, seven punk, ska, and Irish punk bands put on a morning to afternoon show, and the crowd was maybe my favorite of all time: punks who'd become parents, who had ended up like so many do, in the burbs, raising their kids. Next to the spot we claimed, there was a family, mom and dad and their three kids, and the parents would take turns sitting with the kids while the other was down in the pit. Solid parenting, and getting the kids into the best music at an early age.
The closest I've ever been to the purest, simplest happiness in my life was managing to get on stage with my best friend during Less Than Jake's set at Punkspring, an annual festival type show in a giant convention center in Chiba (where the bands are all shouting "Hello Tokyo" because they probably haven't been told they're out in the burbs). LTJ is big on banter (and this was maybe the fifth time I'd seen them in Japan), and while the lead singer was doing his schtick, I yelled out something (I might have been drinking), and he looked at me, pointed, and yelled back "You! Asshole! Get up here, and bring your bald friend with you!" We climbed up on stage, and danced like the middle aged idiots we are to their song Automatic, which somehow seemed much, much longer than when I'd skanked to it in college. A friend in the crowded recorded us on the big screens, and I swear, the goofy grin on my face, that was the closest I've ever been to being a corgi in human form.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
In a seaside park in the suburbia I've found myself, a friend told me about a show in the park's bandshell. On a random Saturday in May, seven punk, ska, and Irish punk bands put on a morning to afternoon show, and the crowd was maybe my favorite of all time: punks who'd become parents, who had ended up like so many do, in the burbs, raising their kids. Next to the spot we claimed, there was a family, mom and dad and their three kids, and the parents would take turns sitting with the kids while the other was down in the pit. Solid parenting, and getting the kids into the best music at an early age.
The closest I've ever been to the purest, simplest happiness in my life was managing to get on stage with my best friend during Less Than Jake's set at Punkspring, an annual festival type show in a giant convention center in Chiba (where the bands are all shouting "Hello Tokyo" because they probably haven't been told they're out in the burbs). LTJ is big on banter (and this was maybe the fifth time I'd seen them in Japan), and while the lead singer was doing his schtick, I yelled out something (I might have been drinking), and he looked at me, pointed, and yelled back "You! Asshole! Get up here, and bring your bald friend with you!" We climbed up on stage, and danced like the middle aged idiots we are to their song Automatic, which somehow seemed much, much longer than when I'd skanked to it in college. A friend in the crowded recorded us on the big screens, and I swear, the goofy grin on my face, that was the closest I've ever been to being a corgi in human form.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:00 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
I forgot one. Phillip Glass and orchestra playing Koyaanisqatsi live with the movie. Tripping my face off. That was absolutely epic. Probably the only audience member who was smiling through the whole movie.
posted by doctor_negative at 8:11 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by doctor_negative at 8:11 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Since we're on the topic of Joni... I got to see her perform at the Brandi Carlile and Friends concert at the Hollywood Bowl 10 days ago. I was in a garden box, next to the front section of the bowl. What was so neat about my seats is that people walked right in front of me to get to and from backstage. So, for a moment, I was less than 5 feet away from Joni Mitchell and also Catherine Carlile.
It was wonderful to see Joni perform. It was also fun that Brandi had us sing Happy Birthday to Joni, because her 80th birthday is coming up. It was a magical night!
posted by skunk pig at 8:13 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
It was wonderful to see Joni perform. It was also fun that Brandi had us sing Happy Birthday to Joni, because her 80th birthday is coming up. It was a magical night!
posted by skunk pig at 8:13 PM on October 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
First concert? Nine Inch Nails with special guests Marilyn Manson and the Jim Rose Circus, the night before Thanksgiving, 1994, at the Lawrence Joel War Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I’ve seen NIN twice since, including once at the Hollywood Bowl with Soundgarden opening, and Manson many, many more times.
I didn’t get to any concerts during Covid, not even the backyard Instagram concert my roommates put on in 2020 (one of the many ways in which I was the world’s shittiest roommate). I did see a Hot Chip concert via iPad in my half of the house (and some of the front porch) in 2020 and loved every second of it.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:30 PM on October 24, 2023
I didn’t get to any concerts during Covid, not even the backyard Instagram concert my roommates put on in 2020 (one of the many ways in which I was the world’s shittiest roommate). I did see a Hot Chip concert via iPad in my half of the house (and some of the front porch) in 2020 and loved every second of it.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:30 PM on October 24, 2023
My first concerts were watching the UAB Jazz band (a bunch of guys who played in big bands in the 50s) in the 70s with my dad.
Probably the most memorable show was Paul Simon at the Cynthia Mitchell Woods pavilion. He was really good, but the electrical storm beforehand was awesome. There wasn't much rain at all, but we watched lightning race back and forth across the sky for over 20 minutes. When PS came on stage, the first thing he said was, "Wow!"
A friend has musicians perform at his house every now and then, which is pretty cool. He's had neighbors show up and join the audience after hearing the music. (The Covid show was in his back yard.)
The most recent show we saw was Trout Fishing in America at a Church in Galveston. We've been going to Trout shows with friends since the 90s. (Most of the audience was older than we were, and we're all in our 50s now.)
posted by Spike Glee at 8:46 PM on October 24, 2023
Probably the most memorable show was Paul Simon at the Cynthia Mitchell Woods pavilion. He was really good, but the electrical storm beforehand was awesome. There wasn't much rain at all, but we watched lightning race back and forth across the sky for over 20 minutes. When PS came on stage, the first thing he said was, "Wow!"
A friend has musicians perform at his house every now and then, which is pretty cool. He's had neighbors show up and join the audience after hearing the music. (The Covid show was in his back yard.)
The most recent show we saw was Trout Fishing in America at a Church in Galveston. We've been going to Trout shows with friends since the 90s. (Most of the audience was older than we were, and we're all in our 50s now.)
posted by Spike Glee at 8:46 PM on October 24, 2023
First concert: Summer 80 Festival at Vancouver's old Empire Stadium in (you guessed it) 1980. Little River Band headlined, supported by Sammy Hagar (!), Rocky Burnette, and at least one other group.
Best concert(s) in no particular order, all in Vancouver unless otherwise noted:
The Pogues, Commodore Ballroom, 1987 (Joe Strummer subbing for a sick Spider Stacey)
Cowboy Junkies, Edmonton, Jubilee Auditorium, 1990 (their extended jam on "Me and the Devil Blues" was like nothing I had ever heard before or since, I can only describe it as industrial country blues)
Richard Thompson, Richard's on Richards, ca. 1999 (touring to support "Mock Tudor" I think - "Bathsheba Smiles" and "Hard On Me" absolutely blazed)
Rick Danko and Levon Helm, Commodore Ballroom, 1983 (was like a house concert, just the two of them sitting on stage, drinking "beverages" and having a blast)
Vancouver Folk Music Festival, 1987 (Oysterband (North American debut!), Billy Bragg, Michelle Shocked, Capercaillie, Spirit of the West, Rare Air - basically my personal soundtrack for the next decade)
Worst concert: The Pogues, Expo Theatre, 1988 (the worst possible venue, and Shane was even drunker than usual, so bad that his mic was taken away and he was placed stage left holding an unplugged guitar while Spider took over vocals and did his damndest to save the show - my friends who were with me, to whom I had raved about the Commodore show the year before, could only smirk "great show man!")
Next concert: Bruce Springsteen, November 2024 (re-scheduled from Nov. 2023) (I have tickets to go with The Daughter)
posted by e-man at 9:08 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best concert(s) in no particular order, all in Vancouver unless otherwise noted:
The Pogues, Commodore Ballroom, 1987 (Joe Strummer subbing for a sick Spider Stacey)
Cowboy Junkies, Edmonton, Jubilee Auditorium, 1990 (their extended jam on "Me and the Devil Blues" was like nothing I had ever heard before or since, I can only describe it as industrial country blues)
Richard Thompson, Richard's on Richards, ca. 1999 (touring to support "Mock Tudor" I think - "Bathsheba Smiles" and "Hard On Me" absolutely blazed)
Rick Danko and Levon Helm, Commodore Ballroom, 1983 (was like a house concert, just the two of them sitting on stage, drinking "beverages" and having a blast)
Vancouver Folk Music Festival, 1987 (Oysterband (North American debut!), Billy Bragg, Michelle Shocked, Capercaillie, Spirit of the West, Rare Air - basically my personal soundtrack for the next decade)
Worst concert: The Pogues, Expo Theatre, 1988 (the worst possible venue, and Shane was even drunker than usual, so bad that his mic was taken away and he was placed stage left holding an unplugged guitar while Spider took over vocals and did his damndest to save the show - my friends who were with me, to whom I had raved about the Commodore show the year before, could only smirk "great show man!")
Next concert: Bruce Springsteen, November 2024 (re-scheduled from Nov. 2023) (I have tickets to go with The Daughter)
posted by e-man at 9:08 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I used to keep lists and ticket stubs. There are so many shows I missed though, it hurts to think about it. I never saw Bob Marley, or XTC or the Pretenders, or… or…
But I’ve seen some great shit too.
First concert was Lou Reed on the Rock and Roll Animal tour.
By faaaaar and away, the best moment in the history of music was Peter Gabriel on the Security tour. It was 1000 times better than anything else. He was pretty fucking amazing last week, too. Many A distant second was Talking Heads just after Speaking in Tongues, maybe the tour Demme filmed a bit later? Tina Weymouth was 8 months pregnant. I thought a lot about what that kid was thinking in there. It was very, very awesome.
Another close second was King Sunny Ade at Liberty Lunch. They fit 17 musicians on that stage!
I have seen The Neville Brothers, Burning Spear and Los Lobos all so many times that I’ve lost count. Upwards of 15 on the first two, and probably 8 or 10 of Los Lobos. They just get better and better.
Other events of note: David Bowie, Let’s Dance (Serious Moonlight) tour. The Clash, Combat Rock tour, Elvis Costello Imperial Bedroom tour, Joe Jackson Night and Day tour. Todd Rundgren and Utopia at The Armadillo. Gentle Giant at the Armadillo.
Yes was ok.
The Rolling Stones in about 2012 were surprisingly good.
King Crimson was great all 3 times.
But what about local bands? Scratch Acid was life-changing, and man, I saw Glass Eye a bunch, and whoa. Also, the Explosives backing up Roky Erickson at the Continental club was a barn-burner. SRV when he was still a regional act… I did a 17-show stint as The Fabulous Thunderbirds’ merch guy in ‘85 or ‘86 & they were firing on all cylinders. Storyville were amazing.
I was in The Coffee Sergeants when they sold out the Texas Tavern last spring, and I was told by many excited people it was legendary. Pretty happy to actually be a member of one of my favorite bands- I get to see us all the time.
Worst ever was Foghat, 2nd worst was Aerosmith. I also accidentally saw Triumph and REO Speedwagon, and they were pretty awful too.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:31 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
But I’ve seen some great shit too.
First concert was Lou Reed on the Rock and Roll Animal tour.
By faaaaar and away, the best moment in the history of music was Peter Gabriel on the Security tour. It was 1000 times better than anything else. He was pretty fucking amazing last week, too. Many A distant second was Talking Heads just after Speaking in Tongues, maybe the tour Demme filmed a bit later? Tina Weymouth was 8 months pregnant. I thought a lot about what that kid was thinking in there. It was very, very awesome.
Another close second was King Sunny Ade at Liberty Lunch. They fit 17 musicians on that stage!
I have seen The Neville Brothers, Burning Spear and Los Lobos all so many times that I’ve lost count. Upwards of 15 on the first two, and probably 8 or 10 of Los Lobos. They just get better and better.
Other events of note: David Bowie, Let’s Dance (Serious Moonlight) tour. The Clash, Combat Rock tour, Elvis Costello Imperial Bedroom tour, Joe Jackson Night and Day tour. Todd Rundgren and Utopia at The Armadillo. Gentle Giant at the Armadillo.
Yes was ok.
The Rolling Stones in about 2012 were surprisingly good.
King Crimson was great all 3 times.
But what about local bands? Scratch Acid was life-changing, and man, I saw Glass Eye a bunch, and whoa. Also, the Explosives backing up Roky Erickson at the Continental club was a barn-burner. SRV when he was still a regional act… I did a 17-show stint as The Fabulous Thunderbirds’ merch guy in ‘85 or ‘86 & they were firing on all cylinders. Storyville were amazing.
I was in The Coffee Sergeants when they sold out the Texas Tavern last spring, and I was told by many excited people it was legendary. Pretty happy to actually be a member of one of my favorite bands- I get to see us all the time.
Worst ever was Foghat, 2nd worst was Aerosmith. I also accidentally saw Triumph and REO Speedwagon, and they were pretty awful too.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:31 PM on October 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
Oh and I saw The Church recently too. Their latest album is a concept thing about a device that pulls songs out of your dreams, they even wrote a book and everything. I give 'em props for doing that kinda thing in 2023, and it's a pretty good album, very prog without the weird time signatures. And I'm a sucker for a band with three guitars.
posted by credulous at 10:03 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by credulous at 10:03 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
A deep suburban childhood didn't afford the chance to sneak off somewhere, and having no older siblings or friends with the same, annoyingly tagging along was out of the question. The first show was a friend with a driver's license boyfriend's band in somebody's basement. I felt cool as hell. First show show was a friend's Mom driving us to Milwaukee to see the Foo Fighters on their second tour, and it was amazing. That Dog opened and their violinist came to perform during the encore. That three hour drive home we were buzzing with excitement, just incredible. Couldn't sleep at all that night. Still have that concert shirt, holes and all. Always am thankful for that experience, as her Mom just hung out elsewhere. Same went for my second show, this time The Ramones on their farewell tour, loud and fast buzzsaw indeed, all I got to experience just to the right of the stage, extremely close. Third show happened because my dad worked construction with one of the guitarists in a local Chicago punk outfit, No Empathy. So my Dad, and a friend and I piled into his work truck to venture to the Metro in Chicago. He parked at some unrelated construction site near that fire station, we thought that was so hardcore. We got to be snotty little punks for an evening. Still have my Apocalypse Hoboken shirt from that night too (speaking of snotty suburban punks).
That sparked a decade of seeing as much live music as possible. Was lucky enough to live near some great venues too. The Knitting Factory in Hollywood, seeing PJ Harvey after 9/11 in an incredibly intimate show. The Joint in Los Angeles and getting a little rock and roll church with Waddy Wachtel's Monday night house band. The Empty Bottle in Chicago seeing Tortoise whenever possible with my Dad. Played incredible shows at 'em with friends too, that stage at The Joint was exceptional before they renovated and lost all the charm. It was on that stage, filling in for another drummer that I got to witness for the first time someone else sing a song I wrote. Just absolutely glorious, I was amazed I was able to play along, but their superior talent made it a hell of a lot of fun.
One last thing, on the subject of opening bands blowing other bands out of the water:
Now, look, I was there in Irvine in 1997, we road the Amtrak down on the assurances that an unmet brother would give us a ride back to campus. We were there EARLY and even though the internet does not show it, Stone Temple Pilots opened for the Foo Fighters/Rage Against the Machine. It was fucking intense, I understood then and there why my first girlfriend loved them so much. It made the rest of the evening boring, and I got lambasted for not sneaking the ditch weed I had in my possession through that arduous journey. Of course there was no ride home, just a very long taxi ride split between 3 broke college students. But it happened, I swear it did.
posted by Brainstorming Time! at 10:09 PM on October 24, 2023
That sparked a decade of seeing as much live music as possible. Was lucky enough to live near some great venues too. The Knitting Factory in Hollywood, seeing PJ Harvey after 9/11 in an incredibly intimate show. The Joint in Los Angeles and getting a little rock and roll church with Waddy Wachtel's Monday night house band. The Empty Bottle in Chicago seeing Tortoise whenever possible with my Dad. Played incredible shows at 'em with friends too, that stage at The Joint was exceptional before they renovated and lost all the charm. It was on that stage, filling in for another drummer that I got to witness for the first time someone else sing a song I wrote. Just absolutely glorious, I was amazed I was able to play along, but their superior talent made it a hell of a lot of fun.
One last thing, on the subject of opening bands blowing other bands out of the water:
Now, look, I was there in Irvine in 1997, we road the Amtrak down on the assurances that an unmet brother would give us a ride back to campus. We were there EARLY and even though the internet does not show it, Stone Temple Pilots opened for the Foo Fighters/Rage Against the Machine. It was fucking intense, I understood then and there why my first girlfriend loved them so much. It made the rest of the evening boring, and I got lambasted for not sneaking the ditch weed I had in my possession through that arduous journey. Of course there was no ride home, just a very long taxi ride split between 3 broke college students. But it happened, I swear it did.
posted by Brainstorming Time! at 10:09 PM on October 24, 2023
First live concert was the Dead Kennedys at the Metroplex in Atlanta. Probably 1984. Unforgettable show, so loud, so over the top. House was beyond packed, people stage diving from the balcony, the works.
Saw a lot of good shows in chicago in the 80s, a lot less since. Have followed the punk-to-old-time pipeline and these days am mainly into music I can play with my jam buddies. Old time fiddle tunes, cajun, southwestern, stuff I come across at jams.
posted by Ansible at 10:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Saw a lot of good shows in chicago in the 80s, a lot less since. Have followed the punk-to-old-time pipeline and these days am mainly into music I can play with my jam buddies. Old time fiddle tunes, cajun, southwestern, stuff I come across at jams.
posted by Ansible at 10:23 PM on October 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Pretty fun for me that this is the topic of the free thread this week, as I just got done at the When We Were Young festival, which is in its second year and this year featured mostly pop-punk acts from the 90s-00s. It had been a really long time since I’d seen live music. It was a long day, and I’m still kinda wiped out, but my husband and I had so much fun. I know I’m a bit younger than the average age of users on here and maybe this music isn’t for everyone here.
posted by Night_owl at 11:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Night_owl at 11:46 PM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I saw Carla bley twice, John scofield with Joe lovano, John abercrombie both with his trio (johnson and Erskine) and with Michel Petrucciani. I saw Abdullah Ibrahim, Randy Weston, Egberto Gismonti and many others but these concert really bring me back to a time when I was discovering the magic of live and improvised music. The concert that really stands out is a Tom Harrell concert with kenny Werner and Billy Hart. They were incredible musicians and I think that's the only concert I managed to invite my mother to, and it was outstanding.
posted by nicolin at 12:02 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by nicolin at 12:02 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I rarely go to concerts nowadays, except in the summer, the Suds à Arles festival is a staple destination.
posted by nicolin at 12:40 AM on October 25, 2023
posted by nicolin at 12:40 AM on October 25, 2023
It's July 14, 1972, and 14-year-old me is off to see his first proper gig: Slade at Queen's Hall in the small North Devon town of Barnstaple.
My single strongest memory from the night is of watching the balcony above my head bounce violently up and down as the fans seated there stamped rhythmically along to Coz I Luv You, Take Me Bak 'Ome, Look Wot You Dun and every other number in the band's set. It seemed certain that the whole structure would collapse on my head at any moment, but I wouldn't have left the hall for anything.
Slade Alive had been out for only a couple of months at this point and Take Me Bak 'Ome had been Number 1 just a fortnight earlier, so this was a band in top form. I was too timid to join the knot of people dancing at the lip of the stage, but I had the time of my life anyway and decided that live music was the best thing ever.
About 18 months later, the US music mag Let It Rock sent Lester Bangs along to witness a Slade show for himself. "I've never seen anything like it," he reported. "When they come on it's like a combination of Beatlemania in full bloom and the early MC5." Fuck, yeah!
posted by Paul Slade at 1:21 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
My single strongest memory from the night is of watching the balcony above my head bounce violently up and down as the fans seated there stamped rhythmically along to Coz I Luv You, Take Me Bak 'Ome, Look Wot You Dun and every other number in the band's set. It seemed certain that the whole structure would collapse on my head at any moment, but I wouldn't have left the hall for anything.
Slade Alive had been out for only a couple of months at this point and Take Me Bak 'Ome had been Number 1 just a fortnight earlier, so this was a band in top form. I was too timid to join the knot of people dancing at the lip of the stage, but I had the time of my life anyway and decided that live music was the best thing ever.
About 18 months later, the US music mag Let It Rock sent Lester Bangs along to witness a Slade show for himself. "I've never seen anything like it," he reported. "When they come on it's like a combination of Beatlemania in full bloom and the early MC5." Fuck, yeah!
posted by Paul Slade at 1:21 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
A friend helped me piece together a memory of an inexplicable (given what I like) show we went to: Kim Mitchell, opened by the Beat Farmers, at the Paramount in Seattle sometime in the 1990s. I think I went because tickets were under $5. Was not, ah, the best concert I've been to.
(Must have been about the time that "Might as well go for a soda" was getting a fair amount of local airplay. "Happy Boy" was the Beat Farmers novelty track which blew up a bit.)
posted by maxwelton at 3:46 AM on October 25, 2023
(Must have been about the time that "Might as well go for a soda" was getting a fair amount of local airplay. "Happy Boy" was the Beat Farmers novelty track which blew up a bit.)
posted by maxwelton at 3:46 AM on October 25, 2023
First concert: mom took me and my brothers to see Elton John... probably around 1977. I remember it pretty well considering I was six or seven, but I also remember thinking it went on too long.
Upthread: "Tina Weymouth was 8 months pregnant."
Trying to picture a person playing bass guitar for 2+ hours with an 8-month pregnant belly!
posted by SoberHighland at 4:20 AM on October 25, 2023
Upthread: "Tina Weymouth was 8 months pregnant."
Trying to picture a person playing bass guitar for 2+ hours with an 8-month pregnant belly!
posted by SoberHighland at 4:20 AM on October 25, 2023
My most active gig-going years here in the UK were 1975-81, when the bands I saw included the Clash, the Stones, Kilburn & the High Roads, the Ruts, the Specials, Eddie & the Hot Rods, Eric Clapton, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Elvis Costello, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Chilli Willi & the Red Hot Peppers, the Undertones, Sam & Dave, Kevin Coyne, the Stiff Records revue and Richard Hell. I've written about many of those gigs here.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:52 AM on October 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 4:52 AM on October 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
Then there was that one time I saw the Crack Babies at the Funhouse in Bethlehem PA.
It felt like being lifted into the sky by the hand of God.
HALF OF NOTHIN’S NOTHIN’, BROTHER
posted by chronkite at 5:08 AM on October 25, 2023
It felt like being lifted into the sky by the hand of God.
HALF OF NOTHIN’S NOTHIN’, BROTHER
posted by chronkite at 5:08 AM on October 25, 2023
I'm a huge music buff, but but don't care for crowds, hence not too many live shows. Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris on the "All the Roadrunning" tour was probably the best. Saw Roger McGwinn (of the Byrds) which was pretty enjoyable, and Ritchie Havens (he had a cold and kept stuffing used tissues into the sound hole of his acoustic guitar.) I think by that point he was past GAF, but it was a good performance anyway. It's interesting, with the exception of the Mark/Emmy show the live shows I've seen don't really reflect my musical taste, more the company that I keep.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 5:23 AM on October 25, 2023
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 5:23 AM on October 25, 2023
Since things have opened back up, I've seen:
- Jack White (all shows should ban cellphones)
- Kraftwerk (old men in full body skin tight suits, in 3D!)
- Rammstein (top notch production values, worth seeing for that alone)
- HEALTH/Perturbator (the soundtrack to 80's sci-fi and horror)
This year alone I've seen:
- The Damn Truth (local band with a retro sound)
- Depeche Mode (reliable favorite)
- Skinny Puppy (happy to see them one last time)
- M83 (synth indie pop at it's finest)
- The Cure (very impressed, nearly 3 hours of joy)
- Metallica Pt.1 & Pt.2 (love them or hate them, they can really play live)
- Mastodon/Gojira (metal fans are so nice and into shows, it's amazing)
- William Basinski (the encore consisted of him pressing a button on his laptop and leaving, only returning just before the song ended)
- Electric Callboy (look them up on Youtube)
- Peter Gabriel (he's still got it)
- Janelle Monae (just wow!)
- Tool (next month)
If we're counting musicals:
- Kimberly Akimbo (Broadway)
- Hadestown (Broadway)
- Rent (community theater production)
posted by exolstice at 5:50 AM on October 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
- Jack White (all shows should ban cellphones)
- Kraftwerk (old men in full body skin tight suits, in 3D!)
- Rammstein (top notch production values, worth seeing for that alone)
- HEALTH/Perturbator (the soundtrack to 80's sci-fi and horror)
This year alone I've seen:
- The Damn Truth (local band with a retro sound)
- Depeche Mode (reliable favorite)
- Skinny Puppy (happy to see them one last time)
- M83 (synth indie pop at it's finest)
- The Cure (very impressed, nearly 3 hours of joy)
- Metallica Pt.1 & Pt.2 (love them or hate them, they can really play live)
- Mastodon/Gojira (metal fans are so nice and into shows, it's amazing)
- William Basinski (the encore consisted of him pressing a button on his laptop and leaving, only returning just before the song ended)
- Electric Callboy (look them up on Youtube)
- Peter Gabriel (he's still got it)
- Janelle Monae (just wow!)
- Tool (next month)
If we're counting musicals:
- Kimberly Akimbo (Broadway)
- Hadestown (Broadway)
- Rent (community theater production)
posted by exolstice at 5:50 AM on October 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
First: Atlantic City Pop Festival, July 1-3, 1969. Two weeks before Woodstock and featuring many of the same acts.
I'd always called this the largest paid concert attendance of 1969, but it looks like Altamont was bigger.
posted by MtDewd at 6:04 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'd always called this the largest paid concert attendance of 1969, but it looks like Altamont was bigger.
posted by MtDewd at 6:04 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
My first show was December 26, 1978 at the Cow Palace in South San Francisco.
It was a big show with 8 bands:
Steppenwolf
Canned Heat
Buffalo Springfield
Spencer Davis Group
Blue Cheer
Three Dog Night
The Electric Prunes
Santana
Santana was the least known of those groups at the time and blew everyone away.
Buffalo Springfield was the post Stills/Young version.
They had stages at each end of the floor with one being setup while the other was in use.
As for best shows, so many over the next 55 years. Stones in Long Beach with Stevie Wonder opening, Pink Floyd and others on the baseball field at UCSD, the Dead at Oakland Coliseum and a really great show by Huey Lewis in Portland come to mind.
posted by jvbthegolfer at 6:49 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
It was a big show with 8 bands:
Steppenwolf
Canned Heat
Buffalo Springfield
Spencer Davis Group
Blue Cheer
Three Dog Night
The Electric Prunes
Santana
Santana was the least known of those groups at the time and blew everyone away.
Buffalo Springfield was the post Stills/Young version.
They had stages at each end of the floor with one being setup while the other was in use.
As for best shows, so many over the next 55 years. Stones in Long Beach with Stevie Wonder opening, Pink Floyd and others on the baseball field at UCSD, the Dead at Oakland Coliseum and a really great show by Huey Lewis in Portland come to mind.
posted by jvbthegolfer at 6:49 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
... after almost 30 years, I just discovered that Dog Faced Hermans' live album was partially recorded at the gig I attended.
posted by farlukar at 7:00 AM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by farlukar at 7:00 AM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Over ten years of lurking here, this is the thread that made me sign up. Such an excellent topic!
First gig ever was Dire Straits when I was knee high to a grasshopper (‘86 I think?), accompanied by my parents, my little brother and some family friends, at KGV just out of Hobart, Tasmania. I remember telling my Dad that I was going to marry the saxophonist. Brother in Arms was later to become my father’s funeral song, and is still very emotive for me.
First unsupervised gig was silverchair and Spiderbait at the Hobart City Hall around ten years later (constrained to the underage area upstairs)
First over age and fully unleashed gig, plus first mosh pit, was Powderfinger at the Gone South Festival in Launceston, Tas, 1999. THAT truly ignited my love of live music.
At last count, I’ve done over 50 festivals and god knows how many smaller gigs. And don’t my ears thank me for it!
Best gig ever: Queens of the Stone Age, back at the Hobart City Hall in 2008. Saw them the following day at V Festival in Melbourne, and maybe my hangover had something to do with it, but not as good. I’ve seen them five times so far (number six is booked in as of today) and they are one of those bands that are better at their own shows, than at a festival.
Biggest disappointment was Bob Dylan at Roskilde festival in Denmark 2006. I grew up listening to Bob and love him still, but that performance was woeful. He sounded like someone parodying Bob Dylan and made every song sound the same. That did result, however, in one of the best crowd moments I’ve experienced. He started playing Like a Rolling Stone, badly, and the crowd just took it into their own hands and sang right over the top of him, singing it as it should have been. It was such a good moment. Music really belongs to the audience, once it’s put out there.
Same festival, I saw Guns and Roses for the first time. My first musical love, outside of my parents’ music. They were an hour late on stage, and the crowd was just starting to turn from excited anticipation to aggravation when they came out… opened with Welcome to the Jungle… and fucking killed it. The teenager inside me lost her shit, and all was forgiven.
Pearl Jam at Reading festival the same year was my first time seeing them (one of my all time favourite bands) and their first time playing a festival since the Roskilde 2000 tragedy. Eddie was visibly nervous, and his concern for the crowd was palpable. They played an incredible set though, and when everyone’s arms shot up into a ‘v’ during Jeremy, it was such a moment.
I was brought to tears during You are My Sister when seeing Anohni and the Johnsons at the Tivoli in Brisbane in 2006. Such a beautiful and painful song. I didn’t even realise the actual meaning of it then.
Biggest ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda, but didn’t’ is Soundgarden. They played the Sound Wave festival in 2015, I’d loved them since I was a teenager, but didn’t go, on the basis of finances at the time. What I would pay now to have that chance again. RIP Chris.
Favourite recorded performance, and one I would kill to have been at, is Jeff Buckley, What Will You Say, Glastonbury 1995 (YouTube) Such a stirring performance; I can only (sadly) imagine what it was like to be there. Sigh. RIP Jeff, you beautiful soul.
Last live gig was two weeks ago at at the tiny Tanuki lounge in Brisbane; my cousin’s cousin’s reggae band. Don’t even remember their name! But I had a great time. A world without music is not a world I would wish to live in.
posted by Smokey Sarah at 7:03 AM on October 25, 2023 [13 favorites]
First gig ever was Dire Straits when I was knee high to a grasshopper (‘86 I think?), accompanied by my parents, my little brother and some family friends, at KGV just out of Hobart, Tasmania. I remember telling my Dad that I was going to marry the saxophonist. Brother in Arms was later to become my father’s funeral song, and is still very emotive for me.
First unsupervised gig was silverchair and Spiderbait at the Hobart City Hall around ten years later (constrained to the underage area upstairs)
First over age and fully unleashed gig, plus first mosh pit, was Powderfinger at the Gone South Festival in Launceston, Tas, 1999. THAT truly ignited my love of live music.
At last count, I’ve done over 50 festivals and god knows how many smaller gigs. And don’t my ears thank me for it!
Best gig ever: Queens of the Stone Age, back at the Hobart City Hall in 2008. Saw them the following day at V Festival in Melbourne, and maybe my hangover had something to do with it, but not as good. I’ve seen them five times so far (number six is booked in as of today) and they are one of those bands that are better at their own shows, than at a festival.
Biggest disappointment was Bob Dylan at Roskilde festival in Denmark 2006. I grew up listening to Bob and love him still, but that performance was woeful. He sounded like someone parodying Bob Dylan and made every song sound the same. That did result, however, in one of the best crowd moments I’ve experienced. He started playing Like a Rolling Stone, badly, and the crowd just took it into their own hands and sang right over the top of him, singing it as it should have been. It was such a good moment. Music really belongs to the audience, once it’s put out there.
Same festival, I saw Guns and Roses for the first time. My first musical love, outside of my parents’ music. They were an hour late on stage, and the crowd was just starting to turn from excited anticipation to aggravation when they came out… opened with Welcome to the Jungle… and fucking killed it. The teenager inside me lost her shit, and all was forgiven.
Pearl Jam at Reading festival the same year was my first time seeing them (one of my all time favourite bands) and their first time playing a festival since the Roskilde 2000 tragedy. Eddie was visibly nervous, and his concern for the crowd was palpable. They played an incredible set though, and when everyone’s arms shot up into a ‘v’ during Jeremy, it was such a moment.
I was brought to tears during You are My Sister when seeing Anohni and the Johnsons at the Tivoli in Brisbane in 2006. Such a beautiful and painful song. I didn’t even realise the actual meaning of it then.
Biggest ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda, but didn’t’ is Soundgarden. They played the Sound Wave festival in 2015, I’d loved them since I was a teenager, but didn’t go, on the basis of finances at the time. What I would pay now to have that chance again. RIP Chris.
Favourite recorded performance, and one I would kill to have been at, is Jeff Buckley, What Will You Say, Glastonbury 1995 (YouTube) Such a stirring performance; I can only (sadly) imagine what it was like to be there. Sigh. RIP Jeff, you beautiful soul.
Last live gig was two weeks ago at at the tiny Tanuki lounge in Brisbane; my cousin’s cousin’s reggae band. Don’t even remember their name! But I had a great time. A world without music is not a world I would wish to live in.
posted by Smokey Sarah at 7:03 AM on October 25, 2023 [13 favorites]
First: The Who, in Denver, 1979 or 80. Wasn't my kind of music (I was...11?). I fell asleep during the bridge in Who Are You.
First voluntary concert was The Cars, who were great.
I saw Helmet open for Faith No More in Albany in 1992,. That concert was great but I've suffered tinnitus ever since.
I've seen Primus a bunch, and M.I.R.V. probably the most, maybe 8 or 9 times.
Most memorable: in 96 or 97, Buckethead was playing a club in SFO. Scott Beale (of laughingsquid.com) organized a Santarchy-like event around it . I drove from Phoenix to SFO to be one of the Santa-costume clad pallbearers that carried a coffin containing Buckethead a few blocks to the venue and then up on stage.
I love live music, but especially in the last few years my ears just can't take it. I went to see Alex Lahey open for The Regrettes last October, and it was so great, but my ears rang really loudly for a few months after.
posted by Gorgik at 7:18 AM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
First voluntary concert was The Cars, who were great.
I saw Helmet open for Faith No More in Albany in 1992,. That concert was great but I've suffered tinnitus ever since.
I've seen Primus a bunch, and M.I.R.V. probably the most, maybe 8 or 9 times.
Most memorable: in 96 or 97, Buckethead was playing a club in SFO. Scott Beale (of laughingsquid.com) organized a Santarchy-like event around it . I drove from Phoenix to SFO to be one of the Santa-costume clad pallbearers that carried a coffin containing Buckethead a few blocks to the venue and then up on stage.
I love live music, but especially in the last few years my ears just can't take it. I went to see Alex Lahey open for The Regrettes last October, and it was so great, but my ears rang really loudly for a few months after.
posted by Gorgik at 7:18 AM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
I keep forgetting performers I have seen, so I started making a list of all of the ones I can remember (closing in on 200).
Not counting the Up With People show my dad inexplicably took me to, my first real show was ZZ Top, in the pre-MTV era.
Some memorable shows since then:
-Early-ish Elvis Costello in Syracuse, 1978.
-The Kinks in Seattle, 1980: the show ended early when someone snuck in through the roof and fell through the ceiling tiles; Ray Davies was horrified (the guy was basically okay, it turned out).
-U2 in Vancouver, 1983: Bono dangled from the balcony by one hand, at one point. I think he wanted someone to catch him.
-The Cramps (with the U-Men), 1984, at a low-ceilinged club above a chinese restaurant. I think that's the first time I ever saw someone crowd-surf--Lux Interior, in this case.
-Laurie Anderson (same year?).
-David Gray, who was relatively unknown at the time (1993?) and opening shows for Maria McKee, performing a joyous solo set, for free, in a near empty nightclub.
-Brave Combo (I didn't know them at all...an unexpected hoot)
-Marianne Faithfull, who I found very moving. One of very few performers who have brought me to tears during a show (Lucinda Williams is another).
-Nirvana playing a short set that included covers of "Safety Dance" and "Seasons in the Sun" at a fundraiser in Seattle.
-The Talking Heads, 2 weeks before "Stop Making Sense" was filmed.
posted by baseballpajamas at 7:24 AM on October 25, 2023 [6 favorites]
Not counting the Up With People show my dad inexplicably took me to, my first real show was ZZ Top, in the pre-MTV era.
Some memorable shows since then:
-Early-ish Elvis Costello in Syracuse, 1978.
-The Kinks in Seattle, 1980: the show ended early when someone snuck in through the roof and fell through the ceiling tiles; Ray Davies was horrified (the guy was basically okay, it turned out).
-U2 in Vancouver, 1983: Bono dangled from the balcony by one hand, at one point. I think he wanted someone to catch him.
-The Cramps (with the U-Men), 1984, at a low-ceilinged club above a chinese restaurant. I think that's the first time I ever saw someone crowd-surf--Lux Interior, in this case.
-Laurie Anderson (same year?).
-David Gray, who was relatively unknown at the time (1993?) and opening shows for Maria McKee, performing a joyous solo set, for free, in a near empty nightclub.
-Brave Combo (I didn't know them at all...an unexpected hoot)
-Marianne Faithfull, who I found very moving. One of very few performers who have brought me to tears during a show (Lucinda Williams is another).
-Nirvana playing a short set that included covers of "Safety Dance" and "Seasons in the Sun" at a fundraiser in Seattle.
-The Talking Heads, 2 weeks before "Stop Making Sense" was filmed.
posted by baseballpajamas at 7:24 AM on October 25, 2023 [6 favorites]
First that I generally admit to: U2 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on the Unforgettable Fire tour. Just a raw explosion of energy.
Actual first: Amy Grant (twice) in Portland in the mid-80s. Very good actually, in retrospect. Great band, she and Michael W. Smith were at the peak of the songwriting prowess. Moving along...
In a swift pivot away from that scene...
Billy Bragg on his first U.S. tour at the Cabaret Metro in in Chicago, just Billy and his guitar and amp and wonderful early tunes about heartbreak and democratic socialism.
Backstage at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A., Kim Deal tried to buy weed from me at my first of several Pixies gigs.
At the Oakland Coliseum, my co-worker took me backstage at what was probably his 400th (and my first and (regrettably) only Grateful Dead gig), and I got to bear witness to the sprawling bespoke village that was set up backstage for the extended family, including a room filled with what must have been three dozen pinball machines.
Speaking of backstage, I wish I could say that I saw Slayer in London, but my date, a music journalist, and I spent the entire show drinking in a backstage bar.
Peter Gabriel on the Us tour in San Francisco was wonderful. But it was topped a few months later by a transcendent concert by Pharoah Sanders during one of his several residencies at Yoshi's in Oakland. Around the same time there was also Tabu Ley Rochereau (who I never dreamt I would be able to see in the U.S.) at Golden Gate Park.
The biggest explosion of energy I was privileged to witness was at a metal showcase at the Hollywood Paladium. Everyone was drinking at one of the several bars in the wraparound space between acts, and suddenly the lights went out and Ozzy stepped out onstage and I swear I've never seen a stage rush as instantaneous and powerful. The space went from vacant to packed within the space of a few seconds.
Best nostalgia act was probably Little River Band at Ravinia, a lovely outdoor amphitheater in Chicago. I had recently fallen in love with their greatest hits cassette tape and they were in top form at the show.
Nirvana at the Salem Armory in Salem, Oregon was a moment, especially because nothing ever happened in Salem, and suddenly a very big something happened. Some band called Pearl Jam opened for them.
Radiohead played the same venue years later, and it was equally momentous. I forgot the tickets back at home in Portland and we had to drive all the way back to get them. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson, but the exact same thing happened a few years later on the way out to the Gorge to see Radiohead.
Speaking of the Gorge, Phish shows out there are just beyond wonderful. So were the Dead and Company shows, but I think that ship has finally sailed.
Speaking of Phish, about seven or eight years ago I left a Trey Anastasio Band show early because it just wasn't hitting right. It was fine, but we just weren't connecting. But I saw them again last year and had the most wonderful time. Little could we have known that just months later James Casey, his delightful sax player, would pass away from colon cancer.
I just about lost my hearing sitting in the 10th row at a Depeche Mode show back in Chicago.
Speaking of sitting up close, I had never heard of Tommy Emmanuel when my friend, who had become his tour manager, hooked us up with front row seats to a show at Portland State University. Thirty seconds in, I swear we all looked like the guy being blown into the back of his comfy chair in those old Maxell ads. He's such an incredibly charasmatic guitarist.
There have been four or five more Billy Bragg shows, including a small and short boutique studio performance which afforded me the opportunity to shake his hand and thank him for ... well, I wanted to thank him for snapping me out of my mid-80s midwest conservatism but there were other folks in line so I just thanked him for his wonderful music.
I don't see Umphrey's mentioned in this thread, but I've probably seen them ten or so times by now and they're one of the best times you can have at a jam show.
The award for the biggest show by the biggest band at the biggest venue in the biggest city goes to the Rolling Stones at the L.A. Coliseum in 1991. I feel like I should feel at least some nostalgia about this but all I can really recall is feeling terrible that the guy who bought me the ticket had intended to take a girl who actually secretly liked me, and I spent much of the show dwelling on this.
I've gone on too long, but I'll just mention that the most recent real revelatory show I've seen was Animal Collective in Boise last year. Having only recently become acquainted with their stuff, I was completely transported by their chemistry and joyfulness. It was everything I've been chasing at shows over the past few decades, and I was delighted to experience it again.
Since then, my family has been going to the opera, theater and ballet here in Boise. My teen son's third and final marching band competition wrapped just last weekend, so my last few live music performances have been hours-long high school marching band shows. Which are explosions of passion and drama and color and movement and sound -- not as impressive, perhaps, when sharing favorite concert memories, but these have by far been closer to my heart than anything related above.
posted by vverse23 at 7:57 AM on October 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
Actual first: Amy Grant (twice) in Portland in the mid-80s. Very good actually, in retrospect. Great band, she and Michael W. Smith were at the peak of the songwriting prowess. Moving along...
In a swift pivot away from that scene...
Billy Bragg on his first U.S. tour at the Cabaret Metro in in Chicago, just Billy and his guitar and amp and wonderful early tunes about heartbreak and democratic socialism.
Backstage at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A., Kim Deal tried to buy weed from me at my first of several Pixies gigs.
At the Oakland Coliseum, my co-worker took me backstage at what was probably his 400th (and my first and (regrettably) only Grateful Dead gig), and I got to bear witness to the sprawling bespoke village that was set up backstage for the extended family, including a room filled with what must have been three dozen pinball machines.
Speaking of backstage, I wish I could say that I saw Slayer in London, but my date, a music journalist, and I spent the entire show drinking in a backstage bar.
Peter Gabriel on the Us tour in San Francisco was wonderful. But it was topped a few months later by a transcendent concert by Pharoah Sanders during one of his several residencies at Yoshi's in Oakland. Around the same time there was also Tabu Ley Rochereau (who I never dreamt I would be able to see in the U.S.) at Golden Gate Park.
The biggest explosion of energy I was privileged to witness was at a metal showcase at the Hollywood Paladium. Everyone was drinking at one of the several bars in the wraparound space between acts, and suddenly the lights went out and Ozzy stepped out onstage and I swear I've never seen a stage rush as instantaneous and powerful. The space went from vacant to packed within the space of a few seconds.
Best nostalgia act was probably Little River Band at Ravinia, a lovely outdoor amphitheater in Chicago. I had recently fallen in love with their greatest hits cassette tape and they were in top form at the show.
Nirvana at the Salem Armory in Salem, Oregon was a moment, especially because nothing ever happened in Salem, and suddenly a very big something happened. Some band called Pearl Jam opened for them.
Radiohead played the same venue years later, and it was equally momentous. I forgot the tickets back at home in Portland and we had to drive all the way back to get them. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson, but the exact same thing happened a few years later on the way out to the Gorge to see Radiohead.
Speaking of the Gorge, Phish shows out there are just beyond wonderful. So were the Dead and Company shows, but I think that ship has finally sailed.
Speaking of Phish, about seven or eight years ago I left a Trey Anastasio Band show early because it just wasn't hitting right. It was fine, but we just weren't connecting. But I saw them again last year and had the most wonderful time. Little could we have known that just months later James Casey, his delightful sax player, would pass away from colon cancer.
I just about lost my hearing sitting in the 10th row at a Depeche Mode show back in Chicago.
Speaking of sitting up close, I had never heard of Tommy Emmanuel when my friend, who had become his tour manager, hooked us up with front row seats to a show at Portland State University. Thirty seconds in, I swear we all looked like the guy being blown into the back of his comfy chair in those old Maxell ads. He's such an incredibly charasmatic guitarist.
There have been four or five more Billy Bragg shows, including a small and short boutique studio performance which afforded me the opportunity to shake his hand and thank him for ... well, I wanted to thank him for snapping me out of my mid-80s midwest conservatism but there were other folks in line so I just thanked him for his wonderful music.
I don't see Umphrey's mentioned in this thread, but I've probably seen them ten or so times by now and they're one of the best times you can have at a jam show.
The award for the biggest show by the biggest band at the biggest venue in the biggest city goes to the Rolling Stones at the L.A. Coliseum in 1991. I feel like I should feel at least some nostalgia about this but all I can really recall is feeling terrible that the guy who bought me the ticket had intended to take a girl who actually secretly liked me, and I spent much of the show dwelling on this.
I've gone on too long, but I'll just mention that the most recent real revelatory show I've seen was Animal Collective in Boise last year. Having only recently become acquainted with their stuff, I was completely transported by their chemistry and joyfulness. It was everything I've been chasing at shows over the past few decades, and I was delighted to experience it again.
Since then, my family has been going to the opera, theater and ballet here in Boise. My teen son's third and final marching band competition wrapped just last weekend, so my last few live music performances have been hours-long high school marching band shows. Which are explosions of passion and drama and color and movement and sound -- not as impressive, perhaps, when sharing favorite concert memories, but these have by far been closer to my heart than anything related above.
posted by vverse23 at 7:57 AM on October 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
I have seen 177 of the pre Jerry death Grateful Dead and about 40 derivative (Further, Dead and Corporate,...) The Dead shows were from 1977 on. All over the country (and Canada) although most were east coast shows. I saw the Allman Brothers 24 times. DMB about 30, Phish 17 (over half during the msg baker's dozen residency. Saw Stills and Young at Nassau Coliseum as one of the first shows. Saw CSN and Tom Petty. I have seen Hot Tuna and Jorma a dozen times. Rolling Stones 10 times. Saw Bruce in the late 70s and early 80s about 10 times.
If I had to pick the best bar band, it would have to be NRBQ. The Bottom Line shows I saw were such high energy. Another memorable show, as a one off was Poi Dog Pondering at Rivinia in Highland Park. They added a free morning kids show that I took my Ying Yangs to who were under 4. I never heard of them before nor have I listened to them since but it was a really fun time.
I was hired to work a Marshall Tucker Charlie Daniels show moving gear on the stage doing the load in and load out. I met Charlie. A total tool. The guys from Marshall Tucker were great. Did shots of tequila with them on the side of the stage while CDB played.
I've seen Neil Young a dozen times. Willie Nelson a dozen times. Government Mule, String Cheese Incident a handful of times.
Been to Jazz Fest 5 times. Too many bands to list. Kasey Musgrave, Chris Stapleton, Bruce Hornsby, Santana, David Lindley, Los Lobos.
I also saw a Lizzo set and a Billie Eiliah set at a music festival in Austin. Oh, Billy Joel several times. North Mississippi All Stars too.
I just recently saw Goose and was under whelmed. Last show I saw was Los Lobos, Bob Weir and the Wolf Bros and Willie Nelson at Forest Hills.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:17 AM on October 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
If I had to pick the best bar band, it would have to be NRBQ. The Bottom Line shows I saw were such high energy. Another memorable show, as a one off was Poi Dog Pondering at Rivinia in Highland Park. They added a free morning kids show that I took my Ying Yangs to who were under 4. I never heard of them before nor have I listened to them since but it was a really fun time.
I was hired to work a Marshall Tucker Charlie Daniels show moving gear on the stage doing the load in and load out. I met Charlie. A total tool. The guys from Marshall Tucker were great. Did shots of tequila with them on the side of the stage while CDB played.
I've seen Neil Young a dozen times. Willie Nelson a dozen times. Government Mule, String Cheese Incident a handful of times.
Been to Jazz Fest 5 times. Too many bands to list. Kasey Musgrave, Chris Stapleton, Bruce Hornsby, Santana, David Lindley, Los Lobos.
I also saw a Lizzo set and a Billie Eiliah set at a music festival in Austin. Oh, Billy Joel several times. North Mississippi All Stars too.
I just recently saw Goose and was under whelmed. Last show I saw was Los Lobos, Bob Weir and the Wolf Bros and Willie Nelson at Forest Hills.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:17 AM on October 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
I've talked about Sue and I going to Peter Gabriel. The first concert we went to together sans-parents was Billy Joel, for his Bridge tour. It was the same night as one of the games for the 1986 World Series, and they occasionally gave score updates from the stage; we were in New Haven CT, so no matter what the score was, it was a dead-even 50/50 split in the crowd reaction.
We were in the nosebleed seats and Sue had brought binoculars that we were passing back and forth; I made sure I got them during "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", which I had been trying to teach myself to play; there is an INSANELY fast section in the middle which was still screwing with me, especially since the left hand you're playing a full octave on the piano, the pinky on one side and the thumb on the other, alternating between the two super-fast. When I played it at home I would always have to stop after that section and cradle my left hand and wrist for about 20 seconds, saying "ow". So during that piano break I had the binoculars, and was laser-focused on Billy's hands as he played - and so I got to see that when he was done with that section, and the rest of the band kicked in, he pulled his hand off the keyboard and sat there shaking his hand out. "HE'S HUMAN!!!!!!!!!!!" I shrieked when I saw that.
...and the World Series score updates remind me of a Great Big Sea concert in 2013, the day after the pipe bomb at the Boston marathon, before they'd caught the bomber. About 30 minutes into the concert, a roadie ran out and whispered something to a somewhat confused Alan Doyle. Before introducing the next song, he announced "so, uh, they caught that guy in Boston, in case anyone wanted to hear about that...." he then got into a quick huddle with the band and they added their song "Boston and St. John's" to the set.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:25 AM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
We were in the nosebleed seats and Sue had brought binoculars that we were passing back and forth; I made sure I got them during "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", which I had been trying to teach myself to play; there is an INSANELY fast section in the middle which was still screwing with me, especially since the left hand you're playing a full octave on the piano, the pinky on one side and the thumb on the other, alternating between the two super-fast. When I played it at home I would always have to stop after that section and cradle my left hand and wrist for about 20 seconds, saying "ow". So during that piano break I had the binoculars, and was laser-focused on Billy's hands as he played - and so I got to see that when he was done with that section, and the rest of the band kicked in, he pulled his hand off the keyboard and sat there shaking his hand out. "HE'S HUMAN!!!!!!!!!!!" I shrieked when I saw that.
...and the World Series score updates remind me of a Great Big Sea concert in 2013, the day after the pipe bomb at the Boston marathon, before they'd caught the bomber. About 30 minutes into the concert, a roadie ran out and whispered something to a somewhat confused Alan Doyle. Before introducing the next song, he announced "so, uh, they caught that guy in Boston, in case anyone wanted to hear about that...." he then got into a quick huddle with the band and they added their song "Boston and St. John's" to the set.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:25 AM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Another category might be "gig I most regret missing". For me, it would be Muddy Waters at London's Dingwalls in December 1978. Waters was in magnificent form at this time, tickets were available and I'd always wanted to see him live, but somehow I failed make the effort to get to this intimate club gig. What I didn't know at the time was that Waters would play only a handful more UK gigs before his death in 1983 - always at much larger, less interesting venues - and that I'd manage to miss all those too.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:32 AM on October 25, 2023
posted by Paul Slade at 9:32 AM on October 25, 2023
First one I went to on my own, sans parents but with older teen friends, was Bruce Springsteen's Hungry Heart tour. (I remember seeing Mitzi Gaynor with my parents when I was younger than that. My dad was a music guy and it's one of my inheritances from him.)
Most recent was the Dallas rendition of the Peter Gabriel I/O tour, and wow I was glad I made it even though I was ill.
I've seen a lot of great shows at large venues and small, but probably the one that was the most satisfying to me was Lindsey Buckingham solo at Antone's in Austin about a decade ago. It was a really good show: Buckingham is a great player and artist, and he can spin a good story, so while he lights up the Mac gigs and the band gigs I've seen him with, he's perfectly capable of running one for you and your 500 closest friends in a barn. We were standing about 10" from the stage the whole time. A couple of days later, I saw Rolling Stone's extremely favorable writeup of this show. I realized I was living exactly the life I wanted to live (within the constraints of my poor health).
posted by gentlyepigrams at 9:49 AM on October 25, 2023
Most recent was the Dallas rendition of the Peter Gabriel I/O tour, and wow I was glad I made it even though I was ill.
I've seen a lot of great shows at large venues and small, but probably the one that was the most satisfying to me was Lindsey Buckingham solo at Antone's in Austin about a decade ago. It was a really good show: Buckingham is a great player and artist, and he can spin a good story, so while he lights up the Mac gigs and the band gigs I've seen him with, he's perfectly capable of running one for you and your 500 closest friends in a barn. We were standing about 10" from the stage the whole time. A couple of days later, I saw Rolling Stone's extremely favorable writeup of this show. I realized I was living exactly the life I wanted to live (within the constraints of my poor health).
posted by gentlyepigrams at 9:49 AM on October 25, 2023
My first one was Rush while they were on their Moving Pictures tour. I wasn't that big of a fan of the band, but some friends were, and we got to see them in the Rosemont Horizon (what is now called something dumb like Allstate Arena), which is a proper rawk arena. If I had to pick a favorite show, it would probably be one that I saw relatively recently: a show by Heilung that they played in Chicago right before the pandemic hit.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:48 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:48 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
First show: Black Oak Arkansas and Humble Pie (with a young Peter Frampton In the band), 1973. Since then, The Who, Todd Rundgren, Yes, Seals and Crofts in Carnegie Hall, Gino Vannelli (still incredible), Tower of Power, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder , Paul McCartney and lots 0f jazz artists like Buddy Rich, Tony William,s MJQ, Bill Charlap,Chick Corea (8 times) Freddie Hubbard, Billy Taylor, and Bill Evans Trio (9 times) and of course, Steely Dan (7 times ) and many others.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 11:46 AM on October 25, 2023
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 11:46 AM on October 25, 2023
... and I left out Keith Jarrett (solo) and Ravi Shankar (mesmerizing).
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 11:48 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 11:48 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
First show I can recall was a Monkees reunion (no Nesmith) with Weird AL opening in about... '86?
I've been playing in bands since I was about 15, and have lived/ worked at a number of different arts collectives and venues, so I've seen and met more bands than I could ever remember...
Notable moments, off the top of my head:
Yes, Crash Worship. Changed my life forever.
Saw The Fall 3 times. Met MES. He was nice to me! However, in the 30 years since then, I lost his autograph.
U.S. Maple, amazing and hilarious guys
King Crimson, a few years ago with 3 drummers
Caroliner Rainbow
posted by SystematicAbuse at 11:57 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've been playing in bands since I was about 15, and have lived/ worked at a number of different arts collectives and venues, so I've seen and met more bands than I could ever remember...
Notable moments, off the top of my head:
Yes, Crash Worship. Changed my life forever.
Saw The Fall 3 times. Met MES. He was nice to me! However, in the 30 years since then, I lost his autograph.
U.S. Maple, amazing and hilarious guys
King Crimson, a few years ago with 3 drummers
Caroliner Rainbow
posted by SystematicAbuse at 11:57 AM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Prince, at the Pyramid in Memphis, June 14, 2004.
posted by vibrotronica at 12:49 PM on October 25, 2023
posted by vibrotronica at 12:49 PM on October 25, 2023
First Show - New England Ska Fest II (LOL) where I went to see the Ska bands (Candlepin maybe you were there?) but had my brains blown out of my head by the Dropkick Murphy's playing probably their like 5th show? One of the scariest, most thrilling moments of my life probably. It looked like a bunch of Sean Taggart style skinhead drawings came to life. After that I was hooked on punk/hardcore, toured all around the world roadie-ing for friends bands. Some of my best ever shows - Nine Shocks Terror at Hampshire college in like 2000?! Dropdead and DS13 in Providence on 9/11/2001, Many many Cro Mags shows, Gorilla Biscuits reunion shows at CBGBs and in Richmond VA at alley katz, Many Avail shows in Richmond VA. Saw the first Pixies reunion show at UMass (with Kim!) in 2001 or 2002?
I've only been to a few concerts (as opposed to thousands of shows) - Pixies reunion, Bruce Springsteen in Charlottesville VA in 2011(?), Rolling Stones in Charlottesville in 2008 (I was hired as a non union laborer to work the concert and got to watch the performance from like 8 feet from the stage. Also got paid $25/hr with a 12 hour guarantee)
Going to punk/hardcore shows mostly ruined concerts for me I think. It's hard to match the intensity when the performance isn't in your actual face or is mediated by security and fences.
posted by youthenrage at 1:00 PM on October 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
I've only been to a few concerts (as opposed to thousands of shows) - Pixies reunion, Bruce Springsteen in Charlottesville VA in 2011(?), Rolling Stones in Charlottesville in 2008 (I was hired as a non union laborer to work the concert and got to watch the performance from like 8 feet from the stage. Also got paid $25/hr with a 12 hour guarantee)
Going to punk/hardcore shows mostly ruined concerts for me I think. It's hard to match the intensity when the performance isn't in your actual face or is mediated by security and fences.
posted by youthenrage at 1:00 PM on October 25, 2023 [3 favorites]
My reaction to recent news:
They say this cat Shaft's a dead motherf-
(Shut yer mouth!)
But I'm eulogizing Shaft
(Then we can dig it)
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:53 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
They say this cat Shaft's a dead motherf-
(Shut yer mouth!)
But I'm eulogizing Shaft
(Then we can dig it)
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:53 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
"Play Free Thread!" was right there.
posted by k3ninho at 2:39 PM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by k3ninho at 2:39 PM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I assumed that was the intent of the title...
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:52 PM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:52 PM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
First concert was the Allman Brothers in like 1978? In Boston; I was 15. People had homemade DISCO SUCKS banners spray painted on sheets hanging off the walls and I was extremely impressed with how cool it all was. On the way to the train station we smoked a joint on the sidewalk and passed a cop who just looked at us and said, "Put that shit out kids." and kept on walking. The 70s were a different planet.
I have long since lost track of all the music I've seen. Best concert was probably the Pogues, Mojo Nixon and the Violent Femmes in the late 80s outdoors on a pier in NYC. Totally amazing show. I saw the Pogues again in Atlanta in the mid 2000s, not quite as memorable. REM in the early 80s - 84? 85? - in Columbia SC was a close followup, someone else waaay upthread I think mentioned the same tour, Driver 8 for the first time ever. Tracy Chapman was incredible in the 2000s at the Thomas Wolfe theater in Asheville as was Lucinda Williams, who almost didn't come on stage but finally did. I cried my eyes out at the Mountain Goats doing the last show at the last ever Bele Chere festival. I've seen them twice.
I saw Frank Zappa in Towson, Maryland and They Might Be Giants at a bar in Baltimore. The Indigo Girls used to play at the bar where my roommate worked in Charleston long before they were big; they were incredible then as now. My friends and I rented a van to go to Atlanta to see Neil Young for the Trans tour, that was probably the biggest stadium show I ever saw and I don't really remember the music.
I lived in Asheville for 20 years; I've lost track of all the bands I've seen. Cracker was great, another free outdoor show. X. Chris' Robinson's solo project after the Black Crowes - got to hang out with him for a while in the green room, that was nice - and the Meat Puppets. The Reverend Horton Heat. Gogol Bordello. And I took my grown kids to see Die Antwoord at the Orange Peel and it rocked my world.
Worst show was probably Evan Dando sleepwalking his way through the whole It's a Shame About Ray album at the Orange Peel in the mid 2000s. I still had a good time though and it was still amazing to hear live; I love the Lemonheads so very much. The really worst was Herbie Hancock and that's mostly because it was really two hours of drumming. I'm sure if you are a Herbie Hancock fan it was amazing. Turns out I am not. I didn't quite know what I was getting into but I was dating a drummer at the time and he was all about it. I also lost my whole paycheck at the Little Feat / Jimmy Buffett show at Meriweather Post Pavilion - that was so embarrassing. I didn't have any pockets and I was as high as a kite; I put my money, my entire cashed paycheck from my job at the healthfood store juice bar, like $85, in a brown paper bag with the sandwiches and then I threw it away. The show was good though.
I've seen James McMurtry probably five or six times? Maybe more? I drove from Asheville to Charleston once to see him; I nurtured a heavy duty crush throughout the 2000s - still have it, probably, I just am old now and have given up - and I was so in love. I've chatted with him a few times; the crush is not reciprocated, sigh.
This is making me want to go to some concerts; it's something I haven't done in so long and now I'm like, wait, there's no law that says you have to stop seeing live music when you get old. I did go see Colin Meloy at the Liberty Theater here in Astoria last December and it was incredible. I've seen the Decemberists before and I love them but the solo show was so great, so intimate and just wonderful.
posted by mygothlaundry at 3:05 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have long since lost track of all the music I've seen. Best concert was probably the Pogues, Mojo Nixon and the Violent Femmes in the late 80s outdoors on a pier in NYC. Totally amazing show. I saw the Pogues again in Atlanta in the mid 2000s, not quite as memorable. REM in the early 80s - 84? 85? - in Columbia SC was a close followup, someone else waaay upthread I think mentioned the same tour, Driver 8 for the first time ever. Tracy Chapman was incredible in the 2000s at the Thomas Wolfe theater in Asheville as was Lucinda Williams, who almost didn't come on stage but finally did. I cried my eyes out at the Mountain Goats doing the last show at the last ever Bele Chere festival. I've seen them twice.
I saw Frank Zappa in Towson, Maryland and They Might Be Giants at a bar in Baltimore. The Indigo Girls used to play at the bar where my roommate worked in Charleston long before they were big; they were incredible then as now. My friends and I rented a van to go to Atlanta to see Neil Young for the Trans tour, that was probably the biggest stadium show I ever saw and I don't really remember the music.
I lived in Asheville for 20 years; I've lost track of all the bands I've seen. Cracker was great, another free outdoor show. X. Chris' Robinson's solo project after the Black Crowes - got to hang out with him for a while in the green room, that was nice - and the Meat Puppets. The Reverend Horton Heat. Gogol Bordello. And I took my grown kids to see Die Antwoord at the Orange Peel and it rocked my world.
Worst show was probably Evan Dando sleepwalking his way through the whole It's a Shame About Ray album at the Orange Peel in the mid 2000s. I still had a good time though and it was still amazing to hear live; I love the Lemonheads so very much. The really worst was Herbie Hancock and that's mostly because it was really two hours of drumming. I'm sure if you are a Herbie Hancock fan it was amazing. Turns out I am not. I didn't quite know what I was getting into but I was dating a drummer at the time and he was all about it. I also lost my whole paycheck at the Little Feat / Jimmy Buffett show at Meriweather Post Pavilion - that was so embarrassing. I didn't have any pockets and I was as high as a kite; I put my money, my entire cashed paycheck from my job at the healthfood store juice bar, like $85, in a brown paper bag with the sandwiches and then I threw it away. The show was good though.
I've seen James McMurtry probably five or six times? Maybe more? I drove from Asheville to Charleston once to see him; I nurtured a heavy duty crush throughout the 2000s - still have it, probably, I just am old now and have given up - and I was so in love. I've chatted with him a few times; the crush is not reciprocated, sigh.
This is making me want to go to some concerts; it's something I haven't done in so long and now I'm like, wait, there's no law that says you have to stop seeing live music when you get old. I did go see Colin Meloy at the Liberty Theater here in Astoria last December and it was incredible. I've seen the Decemberists before and I love them but the solo show was so great, so intimate and just wonderful.
posted by mygothlaundry at 3:05 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
OMG worst show? Scandal featuring Patty Smyth. The ONLY good thing about that show was the really excellent t-shirt that reproduced the record album cover in a festival of colors that must have been a nightmare to screen print. The show itself consisted of sound that was entirely unbalanced for the basketball arena in which it was taking place, also feedback from several different sources at different points in the show, also two arguments between band members on stage, also no encore because the band left the stage feeling obviously pissed off at how the crowd wasn't being all enthused at how their shitty performance had gone.
That album is still not bad, though.
posted by hippybear at 3:46 PM on October 25, 2023
That album is still not bad, though.
posted by hippybear at 3:46 PM on October 25, 2023
Oh, and this photo just came across my Mastodon and it's amazing and I want to listen to the album by this band.
posted by hippybear at 4:32 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 4:32 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
first:
The Beach Boys, Kokomo tour (dear god I'm sorry I was 12 and my friend Ed had tickets)
folk kid with folky parents:
infinite number of old folk acts, including: Pete Seeger, John Roberts and Tony Barrand, Micheal Cooney, ...
Don McLean
Chieftains
as a yoot (1992-1998):
U2 and Pixies (Achtung Baby)
Richard Thompson (free concert on the banks of the Delaware, Philly)
They Might Be Giants, Cracker, Black 47, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Belly
Woodstock 94 (James, Cranberries, Sheryl Crow, NIN, CSN, Green Day, Violent Femmes,... Jackyl)
De La Soul and George Clinton
G-Love
Rebirth Brass Band (multiple earsplitting times, in the Maple Leaf, NO)
in Europe (2000-2001):
and you will know us by the trail of dead (twice: Glasgow and Reykjavik, our tours were synchronized I guess)
Aimee Mann (small venue in Munich... really great, but putting herself down a lot... I think she's better now)
grad school in austin (2000-2007):
Willie Nelson and family (within first month of arriving, at a rodeo, honestly sublime)
Nina Simone (last tour, legend, no bullshit)
Zakhir Hussein (and public sound check)
YoYo Ma (and public sound check)
Bonnie Raitt (just the queen)
Maceo Parker
Erykah Badu
Iron and Wine
Gary Jules
Cracker
The Roots
Tom Petty
old grown up:
Phoebe Bridgers (SitA tour, small weird venue like an elementary school theatre)
Wilco (just pre-covid, so generous: played for 3.5 hours... seemed like every single song)
Josh Ritter
posted by pjenks at 6:09 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Beach Boys, Kokomo tour (dear god I'm sorry I was 12 and my friend Ed had tickets)
folk kid with folky parents:
infinite number of old folk acts, including: Pete Seeger, John Roberts and Tony Barrand, Micheal Cooney, ...
Don McLean
Chieftains
as a yoot (1992-1998):
U2 and Pixies (Achtung Baby)
Richard Thompson (free concert on the banks of the Delaware, Philly)
They Might Be Giants, Cracker, Black 47, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Belly
Woodstock 94 (James, Cranberries, Sheryl Crow, NIN, CSN, Green Day, Violent Femmes,... Jackyl)
De La Soul and George Clinton
G-Love
Rebirth Brass Band (multiple earsplitting times, in the Maple Leaf, NO)
in Europe (2000-2001):
and you will know us by the trail of dead (twice: Glasgow and Reykjavik, our tours were synchronized I guess)
Aimee Mann (small venue in Munich... really great, but putting herself down a lot... I think she's better now)
grad school in austin (2000-2007):
Willie Nelson and family (within first month of arriving, at a rodeo, honestly sublime)
Nina Simone (last tour, legend, no bullshit)
Zakhir Hussein (and public sound check)
YoYo Ma (and public sound check)
Bonnie Raitt (just the queen)
Maceo Parker
Erykah Badu
Iron and Wine
Gary Jules
Cracker
The Roots
Tom Petty
old grown up:
Phoebe Bridgers (SitA tour, small weird venue like an elementary school theatre)
Wilco (just pre-covid, so generous: played for 3.5 hours... seemed like every single song)
Josh Ritter
posted by pjenks at 6:09 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
In the spirit of full disclosure, my first concert was either Cheap Trick at Great Adventure or Genesis at the Spectrum in Philly on the Invisible Touch tour around 15ish or so. I'm really not sure which came first. My brother, eight years my elder, was and still is a huge Genesis fan (we listened to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway on family trips when it was his turn to choose the music), and he took me and a friend to the Genesis show (he also got us drunk, but I digress). In any event, that Genesis show was the first of three arena shows in my life. The other two were Phish in St. Paul in 1996 or 1997, and Duran Duran a month and half ago at the successor to the Spectrum, the Wells Fargo Arena. After reading hippybear's description of U2 stadium shows, I sort of wish I had seen one, but I'm not sure if I recommend arena shows.
posted by mollweide at 6:30 PM on October 25, 2023
posted by mollweide at 6:30 PM on October 25, 2023
First concert was Tiffany at a county fair.
First BIG CONCERT was Genesis on their We Can’t Dance tour.
First concert I attended by myself: Indigo Girls on their Swamp Ophelia tour.
Best Show: Jimmy Buffet. Front row center seats and amazing energy from the crowd.
Worst Show: David Gray. It was near the end of his tour, his voice was going and the crowd energy was flat. i was really disappointed as I had seen him two years prior in the same concert venue and he was excellent.
Other Artists I’m Glad I Got a Chance to See: Sinéad O’Conner, Chris Whitley, Peter Gabriel, Jason Isbell, Richard Thompson, David Gray, Blue Rodeo, Lenny Kravitz, Tori Amos.
Most Fun Overall: Bob Schneider, They Might Be Giants, Violent Femmes (performed in Fedoras and Hawaiian shirts), Ben Folds, Tenacious D.
Concert I am Looking Forward to: Magnetic Fields playing 69 Love Songs over two nights next spring in Chicago.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:38 PM on October 25, 2023
First BIG CONCERT was Genesis on their We Can’t Dance tour.
First concert I attended by myself: Indigo Girls on their Swamp Ophelia tour.
Best Show: Jimmy Buffet. Front row center seats and amazing energy from the crowd.
Worst Show: David Gray. It was near the end of his tour, his voice was going and the crowd energy was flat. i was really disappointed as I had seen him two years prior in the same concert venue and he was excellent.
Other Artists I’m Glad I Got a Chance to See: Sinéad O’Conner, Chris Whitley, Peter Gabriel, Jason Isbell, Richard Thompson, David Gray, Blue Rodeo, Lenny Kravitz, Tori Amos.
Most Fun Overall: Bob Schneider, They Might Be Giants, Violent Femmes (performed in Fedoras and Hawaiian shirts), Ben Folds, Tenacious D.
Concert I am Looking Forward to: Magnetic Fields playing 69 Love Songs over two nights next spring in Chicago.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:38 PM on October 25, 2023
Damn, I forget Weird Al. SO MUCH FUN.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:40 PM on October 25, 2023
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:40 PM on October 25, 2023
Shows I lost some of my hearing at:
Big Country at the Palace in Hollywood, 1983
Los Lobos at the Fillmore in San Francisco, some time in the last 15 years or so...
Primus, Pixies and Jane's Addiction at the Palladium. Perry was just about to go into Ocean Size with a Three Four! but stopped the encores because some asshole threw a Birkenstock at him.
posted by Chuffy at 8:59 PM on October 25, 2023
Big Country at the Palace in Hollywood, 1983
Los Lobos at the Fillmore in San Francisco, some time in the last 15 years or so...
Primus, Pixies and Jane's Addiction at the Palladium. Perry was just about to go into Ocean Size with a Three Four! but stopped the encores because some asshole threw a Birkenstock at him.
posted by Chuffy at 8:59 PM on October 25, 2023
Not many stadium gigs. Maybe because I'm super discerning or maybe just a tightarse. I did try to get Tay-tay tickets though so I can't be too much of either.
Lots and lots of pub gigs, Melbourne in the 90s was pretty good for live music & I was living a short walk from a lot of very good small venues, so long as you liked your PA loud and your carpet sticky. Regurgitator, Chris Wilson, Weddings Parties Anything, The Band Who Knew Too Much.
Lots of mates were in bands. Some of them still are. I did a little bit of mixing and a little bit of roadie-ing in uni, mostly just for beer money and as an excuse to be there. I was never very good at it, but it was a laugh.
These days, lots of festivals ... Port Fairy Folk Festival every year for the last 20 years or something. I enjoy 'browsing' ... you get to see a lot of different things and if you like what you hear you can hang around. Sometimes artists surprise you, especially if you've not heard them live before. And I enjoy being able to walk away when nothing grabs me and let my ears reset by the ocean.
Our kids have grown up as festival brats too, they sing & are learning to play & I hope they'll form bands with their friends so I'll have a whole new generation to be #1 fan of.
posted by nickzoic at 9:00 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Lots and lots of pub gigs, Melbourne in the 90s was pretty good for live music & I was living a short walk from a lot of very good small venues, so long as you liked your PA loud and your carpet sticky. Regurgitator, Chris Wilson, Weddings Parties Anything, The Band Who Knew Too Much.
Lots of mates were in bands. Some of them still are. I did a little bit of mixing and a little bit of roadie-ing in uni, mostly just for beer money and as an excuse to be there. I was never very good at it, but it was a laugh.
These days, lots of festivals ... Port Fairy Folk Festival every year for the last 20 years or something. I enjoy 'browsing' ... you get to see a lot of different things and if you like what you hear you can hang around. Sometimes artists surprise you, especially if you've not heard them live before. And I enjoy being able to walk away when nothing grabs me and let my ears reset by the ocean.
Our kids have grown up as festival brats too, they sing & are learning to play & I hope they'll form bands with their friends so I'll have a whole new generation to be #1 fan of.
posted by nickzoic at 9:00 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Just to list some more:
John Mayall in about ‘78.
Santana a couple times
Grateful Dead July 4th ‘81
Texas Jam with Marshall Tucker, Pablo Cruise and The Doobie Bros. (Pretty bad)
Logins and Messina -pretty good!
Robert Earl Keen a couple times
John Hiatt 2 nights in a row
Some new band called Rapid Ear Movement opening for the Motels.
X
Judas Priest
Randy Newman
Ry Cooder
The Radiators
The Kinks
Black Crowes
Shawn Colvin a couple times
Buddy Guy
Gatemouth Brown
James Cotton
Albert King
Albert Collins twice, Stevie and Jimmie came out one night
Page & Plant
Springsteen twice
Billy Idol
Rush
Pat Travers a bunch (high school friend was his neighbor)
Mahogany Rush
Nazareth
The Wallflowers
Johnny Winter
Joe Ely a bunch
Joe King Carrasco a bunch (opened for him twice)
Dwight Yoakum twice - just go, it’s amazing.
Porcupine Tree twice
Steven Wilson solo
Mastodon
The Police on the Synchronicity tour
Cheap Trick twice
Ben Folds
Iggy Pop showed up at my jam room and sang a couple songs, so I guess that counts as seeing him
Crowded House
Bela Fleck twice
The Bobs
Thomas Dolby (RIP Matthew Seligman)
The Jesus Lizard at least 3 times
Reggae Sunsplash with Gregory Isaacs and 3rd World
Johnathan Richmond
GWAR
I was too young to remember but my mom took me to see Janis Joplin.
That’s all off the top of my head.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:17 PM on October 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
John Mayall in about ‘78.
Santana a couple times
Grateful Dead July 4th ‘81
Texas Jam with Marshall Tucker, Pablo Cruise and The Doobie Bros. (Pretty bad)
Logins and Messina -pretty good!
Robert Earl Keen a couple times
John Hiatt 2 nights in a row
Some new band called Rapid Ear Movement opening for the Motels.
X
Judas Priest
Randy Newman
Ry Cooder
The Radiators
The Kinks
Black Crowes
Shawn Colvin a couple times
Buddy Guy
Gatemouth Brown
James Cotton
Albert King
Albert Collins twice, Stevie and Jimmie came out one night
Page & Plant
Springsteen twice
Billy Idol
Rush
Pat Travers a bunch (high school friend was his neighbor)
Mahogany Rush
Nazareth
The Wallflowers
Johnny Winter
Joe Ely a bunch
Joe King Carrasco a bunch (opened for him twice)
Dwight Yoakum twice - just go, it’s amazing.
Porcupine Tree twice
Steven Wilson solo
Mastodon
The Police on the Synchronicity tour
Cheap Trick twice
Ben Folds
Iggy Pop showed up at my jam room and sang a couple songs, so I guess that counts as seeing him
Crowded House
Bela Fleck twice
The Bobs
Thomas Dolby (RIP Matthew Seligman)
The Jesus Lizard at least 3 times
Reggae Sunsplash with Gregory Isaacs and 3rd World
Johnathan Richmond
GWAR
I was too young to remember but my mom took me to see Janis Joplin.
That’s all off the top of my head.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:17 PM on October 25, 2023 [4 favorites]
The act I've seen the most, and I see no one mentioned him, is Bob Wiseman. I first saw him at a small crowded club in Ottawa (RIP Zaphod's) where he backed Jane Siberry. He had just left Blue Rodeo because he wanted to play more interesting music, and that was enough for me. It was even a Sunday afternoon show, but the place was packed. I even got a tape of the show from a friend; it's probably around here somewhere.
I saw him every time after when he came to Ottawa, and have seen him in a couple of other Canadian cities since then. Every show was different. Once there was a slide show backing more of a spoken-word story. One was in the music room at the local university. The most memorable Bob show might have been at the venerable Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec, with a tuba player sitting in which him, and a curtain of snow falling outside the window. Driving home the lesson of the day, never pass up a Sunday afternoon show.
The tour section of his web site ends in 2017/18 with him working on a Master's degree, so it's possible I haven't missed any shows in the last 6 years because there haven't been any.
posted by morspin at 10:19 PM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I saw him every time after when he came to Ottawa, and have seen him in a couple of other Canadian cities since then. Every show was different. Once there was a slide show backing more of a spoken-word story. One was in the music room at the local university. The most memorable Bob show might have been at the venerable Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec, with a tuba player sitting in which him, and a curtain of snow falling outside the window. Driving home the lesson of the day, never pass up a Sunday afternoon show.
The tour section of his web site ends in 2017/18 with him working on a Master's degree, so it's possible I haven't missed any shows in the last 6 years because there haven't been any.
posted by morspin at 10:19 PM on October 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
I would add to my above lists that what made a lot of shows good, bad, so so, or even great was not only the band, the sound, the seats, but also the friends I was with. Some were roadtrips and some were semi local, but the hang before hand and the bars or hotel afterwards always added to the show experience. Drive two days to see 3 nights of the Dead and I can assure you part of the great time was being in the car with good friends.
I also left out one of the amazing shows I saw which was with my first year college roommate. He was from New Orleans. He convinced me to roadtrip down and see The Radiators at Tipitina's. Just an amazing upbeat show.
I also saw Jimmy Buffet. I am no parrot head, but he does entertain. Just people watching the crowd was worth the price of admission.
When I lived in Chicago, I would often head over to Kingston Mines and see whatever was on stage. Saw Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, and many other local blues artists. I think the Rolling Stones played there in the late 70s or early 80s. As the Kingston Mines motto goes, listen to the blues, drink booze.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:54 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
I also left out one of the amazing shows I saw which was with my first year college roommate. He was from New Orleans. He convinced me to roadtrip down and see The Radiators at Tipitina's. Just an amazing upbeat show.
I also saw Jimmy Buffet. I am no parrot head, but he does entertain. Just people watching the crowd was worth the price of admission.
When I lived in Chicago, I would often head over to Kingston Mines and see whatever was on stage. Saw Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, and many other local blues artists. I think the Rolling Stones played there in the late 70s or early 80s. As the Kingston Mines motto goes, listen to the blues, drink booze.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:54 PM on October 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Before Covid, before moving out of Austin and before I quit FB, a woman in our neighborhood group posted about an extra ticket for a Rufus Wainwright concert that very night downtown. I'm usually not an impulsive person but I grabbed at that chance and went by myself on that early autumn night. It was mostly just Rufus and a piano on stage -- Rufus and a piano and his 'a queen of a voice', to quote himself. It was a voice one could happily drown in. It was a golden night.
posted by of strange foe at 8:30 AM on October 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by of strange foe at 8:30 AM on October 26, 2023 [2 favorites]
The first "concert" was a day long multi band show at the Charlotte Speedway in 1974.
200,000 including 16 year old me and my 18 yr old cousin showed up.
The Allman Brothers Band
Foghat
The Marshall Tucker Band
Black Oak Arkansas
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
PFM
Grinderswitch
It was the first time I experienced sound that moved around the venue. ELP played Karn Evil and one of the sounds went speaker to speaker around the speedway in an ever increasing speed. My little mind was blown.
posted by Oh_Bobloblaw at 8:42 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
200,000 including 16 year old me and my 18 yr old cousin showed up.
The Allman Brothers Band
Foghat
The Marshall Tucker Band
Black Oak Arkansas
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
PFM
Grinderswitch
It was the first time I experienced sound that moved around the venue. ELP played Karn Evil and one of the sounds went speaker to speaker around the speedway in an ever increasing speed. My little mind was blown.
posted by Oh_Bobloblaw at 8:42 AM on October 26, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh_Bobloblaw, I was at the August Jam in '74 as well. It was a bit surreal listening to Nixon's resignation speech on the radio on our way down there.
posted by Surely This at 11:36 AM on October 26, 2023
posted by Surely This at 11:36 AM on October 26, 2023
Can't resist, even if hardly anyone reads the comments down here...
First show: Alice Cooper, 1972
(One of the best): Arcade Fire, shortly after Funeral was released, 2004 (I went on to see them a few more times, even in relatively small venues, but it just wasn't the same as that half-full Commodore Ballroom so long ago)
(Another one of the best): Radiohead, small venue tour of 2006, Blackpool Winter Gardens
Most recent: Beyonce, with my stepdaughter, worth the crazy ticket cost
(And perhaps The Best): Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense tour, 1983 or was it 1984, nevermind
posted by jokeefe at 8:17 PM on October 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
First show: Alice Cooper, 1972
(One of the best): Arcade Fire, shortly after Funeral was released, 2004 (I went on to see them a few more times, even in relatively small venues, but it just wasn't the same as that half-full Commodore Ballroom so long ago)
(Another one of the best): Radiohead, small venue tour of 2006, Blackpool Winter Gardens
Most recent: Beyonce, with my stepdaughter, worth the crazy ticket cost
(And perhaps The Best): Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense tour, 1983 or was it 1984, nevermind
posted by jokeefe at 8:17 PM on October 26, 2023 [3 favorites]
I never got around to posting my answers to the thread's musical questions. Guess I should do that while comments are still open.
First concert I can remember: A kecak (Ramayana "monkey chant") in a small Balinese village. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, watching the torch-lit chanters. It was electrifying.
First rock concert: Jethro Tull in 1971. Tull was fun, but the memorable thing about that show was the opening act. It was Yes, shortly before Kaye and Bruford departed, so my favorite lineup.
Best concert: It's a tie between King Crimson in 1974 and Talking Heads in 1980. Crimson was in their "Lark's Tongues" phase. The Heads were touring Remain In Light and were augmented by Adrian Belew, Steve Scales, Dolette McDonald, Busta Jones, and Bernie Worrell. Similar to the band that filmed Stop Making Sense, but even better IMO.
posted by Surely This at 11:45 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
First concert I can remember: A kecak (Ramayana "monkey chant") in a small Balinese village. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, watching the torch-lit chanters. It was electrifying.
First rock concert: Jethro Tull in 1971. Tull was fun, but the memorable thing about that show was the opening act. It was Yes, shortly before Kaye and Bruford departed, so my favorite lineup.
Best concert: It's a tie between King Crimson in 1974 and Talking Heads in 1980. Crimson was in their "Lark's Tongues" phase. The Heads were touring Remain In Light and were augmented by Adrian Belew, Steve Scales, Dolette McDonald, Busta Jones, and Bernie Worrell. Similar to the band that filmed Stop Making Sense, but even better IMO.
posted by Surely This at 11:45 AM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
I just finished the most lucrative phone call I've ever experienced...
Last November I booked a round-trip flight to to visit a friend in Florida. I completed the first leg of my trip there, but the second leg was canceled due to severe weather (i.e. Hurricane Nicole) so I had to turn right around and fly back home.
I finally remembered to call today to get a refund for the unused destination-to-home part of my ticket. I spent the better part of an hour on hold, but after explaining what had happened they refunded the whole thing, which is twice what I'd expected!
I did not object.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:10 PM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Last November I booked a round-trip flight to to visit a friend in Florida. I completed the first leg of my trip there, but the second leg was canceled due to severe weather (i.e. Hurricane Nicole) so I had to turn right around and fly back home.
I finally remembered to call today to get a refund for the unused destination-to-home part of my ticket. I spent the better part of an hour on hold, but after explaining what had happened they refunded the whole thing, which is twice what I'd expected!
I did not object.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:10 PM on October 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Artists I have seen several times
St Vincent - every tour between Actor and the new album (she only played Primavera Sound for that one). The first one was the best, at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto in front of at most 300 people and basically at crowd level, she tore the place apart.
Nick Cave - maybe 20 times, including Grinderman and the solo “an evening with” tour. Most recently at Primavera Sound 2022, blowing the doors off. Also spent a lovely half hour or so chatting with Warren Ellis when he was in Barcelona for his book tour and we ran into him before the event.
My Brightest Diamond - at least half a dozen times, always a great show. I don’t know why she isn’t a huge star (maybe she doesn’t want to be). A particular treat was some arty event where she told us it was the first time she’d played live with her recording band - ever, and this was maybe 2018, about 10 years since they’d started recording together - and they did a bunch of early stuff.
Spoon - including seeing them all three nights they played in Toronto for the They Want My Soul tour, and seeing The Divine Fits live at Lee’s Palace and watching Brett Daniel walk right past us in the crowd.
Robyn Hitchcock - more because a good friend is a mega-fan, but he always puts on a good show (if a bit country for me at times). Managed to shake his hand after a gig at the late great Mod Club.
Andrew Bird, who always delivers and has incredible musicians in his backing band.
Tanya Tagaq - a force of nature.
Stars - probably five or six times.
I have also see and enjoyed
The White Stripes on their final tour, and Jack White a couple of times since.
Koop - I believe the only thing they said to the audience all night was "We are Koop. We love you." A perfect concert.
Hercules and Love Affair (a couple of times).
Florence and the Machine (as far as mega stadium acts go, she was incredible).
Bob Dylan in 1988 and 1998, after he nearly died.
Leonard Cohen, who played for 3 hours and everyone knew every single song he played.
Hozier.
Feist, probably my favourite guitarist.
Amadou and Mariam.
Buena Vista Social Club.
Bajofondo.
Anna Calvi.
GusGus.
Booka Shade.
Tinariwen in a record shop and then later in a bigger venue.
Tindersticks in the Palau de la Musica right before the pandemic, those were simpler times.
An epic double bill of The Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks.
Arctic Monkeys, a couple of times early on.
MIA, who flooded the stage with audience members, before that became a thing.
Elbow, who play massive festivals and stadiums in Europe but played the Commodore Ballroom to about 400 people in Vancouver and still gave it their all.
Jamie T, one of the all time best shows I’ve seen.
Bjork, just once, but so glad I did see her.
Lamb, live in Brixton Academy 2003 - what a show.
Notable for other reasons
At least twice, first for Bat for Lashes and then for The Knife, I’ve walked into the show to hear something like “And this will be our last song tonight…”
The Notwist ended up playing a hardcore show, when I was more enamoured of their Neon Golden twisty Europop.
Somehaw, soon after moving to Barcelona I bought tickets to see Agnes Obel, only to discover that Fat Freddy’s Drop were playing in town on the exact same night. I was torn, but in any case Covid meant that both shows were cancelled. Two years later, I bought tickets to again see Agnes Obel, and incredibly Fat Freddy’s Drop were booked to play on the exact same night again. And then I didn’t end up going to see either.
For some reasion I have never seen
Depeche Mode (now that Morrissey is a shit, my all time favourite band)
Massive Attack
Peter Gabriel (was supposed to see him in London earlier this year but had to cancel due to family obligations)
Next gig will hopefully be Charlie Webster next week.
posted by fellorwaspushed at 2:32 PM on October 27, 2023
St Vincent - every tour between Actor and the new album (she only played Primavera Sound for that one). The first one was the best, at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto in front of at most 300 people and basically at crowd level, she tore the place apart.
Nick Cave - maybe 20 times, including Grinderman and the solo “an evening with” tour. Most recently at Primavera Sound 2022, blowing the doors off. Also spent a lovely half hour or so chatting with Warren Ellis when he was in Barcelona for his book tour and we ran into him before the event.
My Brightest Diamond - at least half a dozen times, always a great show. I don’t know why she isn’t a huge star (maybe she doesn’t want to be). A particular treat was some arty event where she told us it was the first time she’d played live with her recording band - ever, and this was maybe 2018, about 10 years since they’d started recording together - and they did a bunch of early stuff.
Spoon - including seeing them all three nights they played in Toronto for the They Want My Soul tour, and seeing The Divine Fits live at Lee’s Palace and watching Brett Daniel walk right past us in the crowd.
Robyn Hitchcock - more because a good friend is a mega-fan, but he always puts on a good show (if a bit country for me at times). Managed to shake his hand after a gig at the late great Mod Club.
Andrew Bird, who always delivers and has incredible musicians in his backing band.
Tanya Tagaq - a force of nature.
Stars - probably five or six times.
I have also see and enjoyed
The White Stripes on their final tour, and Jack White a couple of times since.
Koop - I believe the only thing they said to the audience all night was "We are Koop. We love you." A perfect concert.
Hercules and Love Affair (a couple of times).
Florence and the Machine (as far as mega stadium acts go, she was incredible).
Bob Dylan in 1988 and 1998, after he nearly died.
Leonard Cohen, who played for 3 hours and everyone knew every single song he played.
Hozier.
Feist, probably my favourite guitarist.
Amadou and Mariam.
Buena Vista Social Club.
Bajofondo.
Anna Calvi.
GusGus.
Booka Shade.
Tinariwen in a record shop and then later in a bigger venue.
Tindersticks in the Palau de la Musica right before the pandemic, those were simpler times.
An epic double bill of The Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks.
Arctic Monkeys, a couple of times early on.
MIA, who flooded the stage with audience members, before that became a thing.
Elbow, who play massive festivals and stadiums in Europe but played the Commodore Ballroom to about 400 people in Vancouver and still gave it their all.
Jamie T, one of the all time best shows I’ve seen.
Bjork, just once, but so glad I did see her.
Lamb, live in Brixton Academy 2003 - what a show.
Notable for other reasons
At least twice, first for Bat for Lashes and then for The Knife, I’ve walked into the show to hear something like “And this will be our last song tonight…”
The Notwist ended up playing a hardcore show, when I was more enamoured of their Neon Golden twisty Europop.
Somehaw, soon after moving to Barcelona I bought tickets to see Agnes Obel, only to discover that Fat Freddy’s Drop were playing in town on the exact same night. I was torn, but in any case Covid meant that both shows were cancelled. Two years later, I bought tickets to again see Agnes Obel, and incredibly Fat Freddy’s Drop were booked to play on the exact same night again. And then I didn’t end up going to see either.
For some reasion I have never seen
Depeche Mode (now that Morrissey is a shit, my all time favourite band)
Massive Attack
Peter Gabriel (was supposed to see him in London earlier this year but had to cancel due to family obligations)
Next gig will hopefully be Charlie Webster next week.
posted by fellorwaspushed at 2:32 PM on October 27, 2023
Spoon I vaguely knew but it didn't get me and then I saw them live and it was like oh shit this is awesome and I went home to listen to more Spoon. And now I love Spoon.
posted by downtohisturtles at 8:54 AM on October 28, 2023
posted by downtohisturtles at 8:54 AM on October 28, 2023
Today I learned that Mastodon has the #BloomScrolling tag which people use to post photos of flowers. I'm very happy to learn about this.
posted by hippybear at 1:27 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 1:27 PM on October 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
The last pumpkin I did, around 10 years ago. After that I stopped bothering, because the area I live in doesn't seem to get any trick-or-treaters.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:03 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:03 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
My first concert was June 6, 1980: The Ramones at 6 Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ.
There were quite a few shows in contention for best show I ever saw... The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion show, 2nd of two nights at the Beacon in NYC -- apparently the first night was a disaster, but the one I saw, well, I can honestly say the CD of that tour was mixed extremely lame, that band had some power... both of Bowie's Reality shows, in Philly and at MSG; he retired in peak form... Laibach at The Kitchen in 1988, holy cow... but honestly the best single show, and I'm hard pressed to explain why, was Mott the Hoople '74 at the Beacon in April 2019. That just gave me everything I ever wanted or needed from a rock-n-roll show.
Much of my concert-going, especially lately, has been playing catch-up. I've managed to see Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, The Monkees, Mike Nesmith solo, The Misfits, the Buzzcocks, all after their prime... though I've seen both young and old Dickies, and young and old X, and middling and old Devo... Every so often I count how many times I saw Bowie and then I forget, but it's at least a dozen.
But the band I've seen more than any other, I'm pretty sure, is The Damned, who I'm going to see at least once more, later tonight.
posted by Devoidoid at 12:13 PM on October 30, 2023
There were quite a few shows in contention for best show I ever saw... The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion show, 2nd of two nights at the Beacon in NYC -- apparently the first night was a disaster, but the one I saw, well, I can honestly say the CD of that tour was mixed extremely lame, that band had some power... both of Bowie's Reality shows, in Philly and at MSG; he retired in peak form... Laibach at The Kitchen in 1988, holy cow... but honestly the best single show, and I'm hard pressed to explain why, was Mott the Hoople '74 at the Beacon in April 2019. That just gave me everything I ever wanted or needed from a rock-n-roll show.
Much of my concert-going, especially lately, has been playing catch-up. I've managed to see Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, The Monkees, Mike Nesmith solo, The Misfits, the Buzzcocks, all after their prime... though I've seen both young and old Dickies, and young and old X, and middling and old Devo... Every so often I count how many times I saw Bowie and then I forget, but it's at least a dozen.
But the band I've seen more than any other, I'm pretty sure, is The Damned, who I'm going to see at least once more, later tonight.
posted by Devoidoid at 12:13 PM on October 30, 2023
Rhaomi: "And right now I'm super jazzed to see Brittany Howard's debut show in Birmingham next month. I am a bit of a fan."
Update: Y'ALL.
I finally got to go to that debut show in Birmingham the other day and it was FANTASTIC.
Let's review:
- While waiting in line I ran into her dad and the rest of her family (recognized thanks to their cameos in the music video for "Stay High")
- Despite arriving towards the end of the line, I made a beeline for the stage and managed to get second back from the front rail (and this was a small venue, so the stage was literally within spitting distance. It was exceedingly difficult to resist moving up when the person in front of me left to use the bathroom before the show, but my patience was rewarded when she and her friend inexplicably left halfway through the show.
- The opener (L'Rain from Brooklyn) provided an interesting "sonic bath" experience with lots of layered samples and instrumentation, though it was sadly marred by some technical glitches
- When the crew started setting up for the main show, I asked a tall dude in front if he could try getting a photo of the set list to see if it was all new material. He tried his best but couldn't get a clear shot; after that he asked if I could send him any photos or video I took since his phone was about to die. That's when I realized I had the battery and storage to record the entire show from my perfect vantage point... in glorious 4K 60FPS. (DISCLAIMER: I held the phone low by my chin to not block any views, only occasionally glanced at the screen to make sure it wasn't drifting, and both she and her label are OK with YouTube recordings of her shows!)
- The show itself was phenomenal -- Howard is IMHO one of the best live performers today, a real force of nature on stage oozing charisma and absolutely killing it vocally. Knocking over mic stands, flinging cords about (almost got slapped at one point), grooving and dancing and stalking the stage and looming out over the crowd to raise hackles or call for more noise. She clearly adored playing to a home state crowd. Her band was fantastic, too -- including a church organist, multiple guitarists, backup singers, and the original bassist from Alabama Shakes. Great chemistry across the board.
- She played 18 songs in all, a mix of material from Jaime and eight new tracks from the forthcoming album. New tracks: "What Now", "I Don't", "Patience", "Red Flags", "To Be Still", "Power To Undo", "Another Day", "Revolution"
- After the show, I was talking to my new tall friend West (who'd come all the way from Baltimore!) about strategies for getting an autograph. He'd actually met Brittany six times before (!) and said she would sometimes come to the floor after most everyone else had cleared out to meet stragglers. So we and a couple other folks decided to try our luck and wait.
- After awhile we noticed a line forming for what turned out to be some kind of VIP afterparty thing, and it was dicey trying to avoid security that was asking non-passholders to leave. Fortunately our little group had somebody who had worked their a few years before who was savvy enough to strike up a friendly and distracting conversation with any staff who approached us.
- My personal low point of the night was when I stepped aside and knelt down to take out my vinyl copy of Sound & Color and special bronze sharpie I'd brought along -- only to notice West & co. talking to one of the backup singers near the VIP entrance. Turns out they knew her and were giving her stuff to take back and get signed! By the time I hustled back she'd already disappeared into the back. But the guy who knew her counseled patience.
- At this point a senior security staffer walked up and said we'd have to wait outside even if we did have stuff we were waiting to be returned. Luckily our ex-staffer friend expertly derailed her into a discussion of the previous owner's somewhat dubious history.
- Her gambit paid off because just a couple minutes later Brittany Howard herself walked out from the back in her street clothes. She was super chill and down-to-earth -- I apologized for any distraction from my recording (her: "Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, and I gotta do what I gotta do!"), and she graciously signed my record along with everybody else's things. Everyone shared their elevator pitches for why she inspired them in tough times (we had not one but two people who had discovered her music while homeless), and we all took a delighted group photo to cap off the night.
10/10 experience, would recommend, no notes
posted by Rhaomi at 9:55 AM on November 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Update: Y'ALL.
I finally got to go to that debut show in Birmingham the other day and it was FANTASTIC.
Let's review:
- While waiting in line I ran into her dad and the rest of her family (recognized thanks to their cameos in the music video for "Stay High")
- Despite arriving towards the end of the line, I made a beeline for the stage and managed to get second back from the front rail (and this was a small venue, so the stage was literally within spitting distance. It was exceedingly difficult to resist moving up when the person in front of me left to use the bathroom before the show, but my patience was rewarded when she and her friend inexplicably left halfway through the show.
- The opener (L'Rain from Brooklyn) provided an interesting "sonic bath" experience with lots of layered samples and instrumentation, though it was sadly marred by some technical glitches
- When the crew started setting up for the main show, I asked a tall dude in front if he could try getting a photo of the set list to see if it was all new material. He tried his best but couldn't get a clear shot; after that he asked if I could send him any photos or video I took since his phone was about to die. That's when I realized I had the battery and storage to record the entire show from my perfect vantage point... in glorious 4K 60FPS. (DISCLAIMER: I held the phone low by my chin to not block any views, only occasionally glanced at the screen to make sure it wasn't drifting, and both she and her label are OK with YouTube recordings of her shows!)
- The show itself was phenomenal -- Howard is IMHO one of the best live performers today, a real force of nature on stage oozing charisma and absolutely killing it vocally. Knocking over mic stands, flinging cords about (almost got slapped at one point), grooving and dancing and stalking the stage and looming out over the crowd to raise hackles or call for more noise. She clearly adored playing to a home state crowd. Her band was fantastic, too -- including a church organist, multiple guitarists, backup singers, and the original bassist from Alabama Shakes. Great chemistry across the board.
- She played 18 songs in all, a mix of material from Jaime and eight new tracks from the forthcoming album. New tracks: "What Now", "I Don't", "Patience", "Red Flags", "To Be Still", "Power To Undo", "Another Day", "Revolution"
- After the show, I was talking to my new tall friend West (who'd come all the way from Baltimore!) about strategies for getting an autograph. He'd actually met Brittany six times before (!) and said she would sometimes come to the floor after most everyone else had cleared out to meet stragglers. So we and a couple other folks decided to try our luck and wait.
- After awhile we noticed a line forming for what turned out to be some kind of VIP afterparty thing, and it was dicey trying to avoid security that was asking non-passholders to leave. Fortunately our little group had somebody who had worked their a few years before who was savvy enough to strike up a friendly and distracting conversation with any staff who approached us.
- My personal low point of the night was when I stepped aside and knelt down to take out my vinyl copy of Sound & Color and special bronze sharpie I'd brought along -- only to notice West & co. talking to one of the backup singers near the VIP entrance. Turns out they knew her and were giving her stuff to take back and get signed! By the time I hustled back she'd already disappeared into the back. But the guy who knew her counseled patience.
- At this point a senior security staffer walked up and said we'd have to wait outside even if we did have stuff we were waiting to be returned. Luckily our ex-staffer friend expertly derailed her into a discussion of the previous owner's somewhat dubious history.
- Her gambit paid off because just a couple minutes later Brittany Howard herself walked out from the back in her street clothes. She was super chill and down-to-earth -- I apologized for any distraction from my recording (her: "Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, and I gotta do what I gotta do!"), and she graciously signed my record along with everybody else's things. Everyone shared their elevator pitches for why she inspired them in tough times (we had not one but two people who had discovered her music while homeless), and we all took a delighted group photo to cap off the night.
10/10 experience, would recommend, no notes
posted by Rhaomi at 9:55 AM on November 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
(PS: My bad, "Revolution" was a Nina Simone cover, not a new track. I thought it sounded like a throwback!)
posted by Rhaomi at 4:00 PM on November 13, 2023
posted by Rhaomi at 4:00 PM on November 13, 2023
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Went without for awhile (I was an introverted teen), but made up for it by having the privilege of seeing Alabama Shakes live in 2015, during what would turn out to be one of their last times performing in Alabama. Almost got rained out (did get delayed), but the show was fantastic.
I had gotten into Radiohead just as their 2012 tour was winding down, so I made up for that by catching them twice in 2017, once in Atlanta (where they played my all-time favorite song!) and then taking the Crescent train down to New Orleans. But better than those by far was seeing their side project The Smile in a much smaller venue in Atlanta last year -- not so much for the show itself (which was grand and even debuted a new song), but for the unexpected meet-and-greet afterwards, where I got to (briefly) tell Thom about the story of figuring out where the album art for OK Computer is from.
And right now I'm super jazzed to see Brittany Howard's debut show in Birmingham next month. I am a bit of a fan.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:33 AM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]