Amazing Concert Experiences

[Anderton]

I'd like to hear about some concert experiences you had that were notable for one reason or another. Maybe the sound was great, or the theatrics, or the audience, or whatever...or maybe it was the environment. What live performances have you see that charged your capacitors?

[alphajerk]

beastie boys in a gymnasium [with a fun guy http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif] way back when they still could play smaller joints.

 

fishbone about 7 years ago on a 10-strip swimming above 30,000 people. a sea of heads.

 

a clutch show in any state anytime.

 

ANY Meters show but one specifically at 9:30 club in DC, all i could say for 15 minutes after it was over was "GAWD DAMN!"

 

a couple dead shows left the planet, or i did http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

the debauchery of a Merle show is always worth the price of admission.

[Curve Dominant]

One year in the late 80's, Craig, I saw an amazing show that I still remember like it was yesterday. It was part of the Mellon Jazz Festival, and it took place at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, which is the home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The line-up of this ensemble was:

 

1. Carlos Santana (electric guitar)

2. Wayne Shorter (horns, flute, woodwnds)

3. Chester Thompson (keys)

4. Armando Peraza (percussion)

5. Patrice Rushin (hand-held synthe, over the shoulder like a guitar)

6. Alonzo Jackson (bass)

7. Omar Hakim (drums)

plus a couple more percussionists. They jammed, and jammed, for hours...and I met a beautiful Columbian girl in the lobby, who I ended up dating for about a year. That's one that I'll never forget.

 

curvedominant

[D. Gauss]

-prince with larry graham on bass and chaka kahn singing and maceo parker on horn. no costume changes, no bare-ass pants, no light show. just 2 solid hours of serious sweaty funk.

 

-el vez (the mexican elvis). his gospel show at maxwell's in hoboken. amazing 10 person band. wild show. hard to describe unless you know about el vez. it has so little to do with elvis, yet that is the glue that holds the whole show together. imagine t-rex playing with elvis fronting and zappa as musical director and it still won't be close...

 

-dash rip rock (speed country band from new orleans) at brownies, nyc. one of many show highlights was the drummer singing TLC's 'waterfalls' naked on the bar while the bartender poured jack daniels all over him...

 

-les paul (any monday night in NYC). 85 years old. it's the real deal. go before he dies.

 

-kiss. (first time around. not the current, fat and bloated, hairpiece version)

 

 

that's all i can think of at the moment

 

-d. gauss

[Quin]

Brian Adams did a great concert in Bahrain. It was the first real concert we'd had there is years - so the crowd didn't really know how to react....especially when the lead guitarist did a swan dive off the stage....the crowd PARTED http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/redface.gif and the guy hit the floor !!! Needless to say he had a few choice words for the crowd and told them what was expected !

[Tedster]

Well, not nearly as memorable as some. But, lemme see...a Clapton concert...where Santana was the backup band. Santana did a set, then Clapton came out...and ended up with Clapton calling Santana out on stage and the two of them jamming for a bit.

 

George Harrison in 1974. I've always been a Beatle fan, and the surviving ex-Beatles don't tour much. Don't think Harrison's toured since...so that was kind of a rare event.

 

Any time at the Kansas City Blues and Jazz festival. Just plain ol' outdoor fun and asskickin' music.

[michael saulnier]

The last two times I saw Jeff Beck. He toured each time on a new album... His current one has interesting mixes of techno and guitar music blended with Jennifer Batten's great guitar synth ideas. It's become one of my favorite cd's.

 

He has a playing style that is unique and he was a total showman. In complete control of his instrument, yet not "playing it safe". An artist.

 

guitplayer

[Rod S]

Originally posted by Quin:

Brian Adams did a great concert in Bahrain. It was the first real concert we'd had there is years - so the crowd didn't really know how to react....especially when the lead guitarist did a swan dive off the stage....the crowd PARTED http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/redface.gif and the guy hit the floor !!! Needless to say he had a few choice words for the crowd and told them what was expected !

 

Quin - It's funny you mention this. One of my roomates from college was from Bahrain, and he told me about Bryan Adams doing a show there, and he had hung out with him. I thought he was full of shit till he showed me the pictures. If it wasn't Bryan Adams it sure hell looked like him.

 

Rod

[trick fall]

So many where to start? How about any of the 14 or 15 Ramones shows I was lucky enough to see, or Deborah Harry three nights in a row at the World. I was 18 all ways a huge Blondie fan and ended up hanging out with the band, even smoked with them!

 

Oh and then there was the time I saw The Smith's, they did like five encores and the house lights came up, but everyone refused to leave and they had to come out and do like two more tunes.

 

I saw Joe Strummer about a year ago and that really recharged my batteries, oh and I went to see my friends band at CB's the other night and at the end of the night the guys from Green Day decided to do a set!

 

Some other great live shows:

Sonic Youth

The Fall

My Bloody Valentine

Jesus and Mary Chain

The Wolfe Tones

Reverend Horton Heat

[Mats Nermark]

I have been to a few good ones.

 

Mott The Hoople on their first tour with Mick Ronson on lead guitar

David Bowie's Station to Station tour with Adrian Belew on guitar. Magic!

Manhattan Transfer's two concerts at Scandinavium, Sweden. Wayne Johnsson is a killer guitar player in whatever style it takes.

Paul Simon concert even though I thought Eric Gale was a bit boring.

Norweigan group Lava at Liseberg many years ago.

10cc with the original cast was absolutely awsome.

Michael Ruff at At My Place in LA in the summer of 88.

Earth, Wind and Fire way back when the original members were still in it.

Prince with Sheila E on drums was very good but way too loud (and I like loud).

 

Best regards,

 

Mats Nermark

[dj3]

All in Austin

Freddy King at the Armadillo.

Springsteen (for $1) at the 'Dillo during the Born to Run Tour.

Little Feat at the Paramount (5 shows over one weekend)

U2 in a 300 person club (Club Foot.)

Delbert McClinton at Soap Creek.

T-Birds for a buck at Antone's when it was still on 6th street.

Stevie Ray for a buck.

Lyle Lovett for a buck.

It was sooooo nice in austin in the 70's early 80's. everything was special, the list is just too long...

[Calfee Jones]

Tedster - I saw that Clapton tour when it was in Cleveland. It was a highlight show for me too. I think I really understood what being a guitar player was all about. Santana showed the audience that you can play whatever you want, as long as you feel it.

 

The early Springsteen shows at the small halls (1975-76) were really special. Great energy, great songs, great performances, and a light show that was more like theater.

 

Lyle Lovett and his Big Band - The sound and musicianship just outstanding.

 

David Johannsen (Post New York Dolls, Pre Buster Poindexter) "Funky But Chic" - in a small hot club there were about 120 of us packed in there shoulder to shoulder - but the energy was fantastic!

 

The older I get, the harder it is for me to appreciate the great shows. I think it's because I've "peeked behind the curtain" too far (a "Wizard of Oz" reference) and there is not as much magic for me as there used to be.

[Anderton]

I'm also curious WHY you thought something was particularly good.

 

Looking back, I realized that my favorite concerts were never the ones with huge light shows, choreography, blah blah blah but where the musicians just got up and played music.

 

One of the best, I thought, was Procol Harum. My band opened for them for a week in Chicago in the late 60s, right after the Democratic Convention with all the protests. There wasn't a big buzz about them being a live band, but the combination of piano, organ, Robin Trower on guitar, and a tight-as-hell rhythm section (B.J. Thomas on drums, who was the drummer for the Rocky Horror Picture show soundtrack) was awesome. Also, Gary Brooker, their lead singer, had a voice that sounded EXACTLY like it did on record - no studio tricks were needed. When freed from the dynamic range restrictions and such of vinyl, their ability to really use dynamics made a hell of an impression on me. Just when you thought they couldn't take the music one more level higher, they did.

 

Also, got to see Miles Davis at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia when he had Michael Henderson on bass, Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea on keyboards, Wayne Shorter on sax, and Jack de Johnette on drums. They came out and just SMOKED. Miles had this reputation of turning his back on the audience and being "difficult" on stage, but for whatever reason, that night he was really turned on (probably by everyone else's playing, which was excellent). At one point he stopped playing, and indeed turned his back to the audience. But it sure seemed to me he had stopped solely to hear the incredible playing that was going on behind him. When he returned with some wa-wa trumpet licks, he just tore into the music. I realized that at least in that case, when he turned his back to the audience, it wasn't arrogance: for a few minutes, he bacame a listener to his own band.

 

Then there was seeing Jimmy James at the Cafe Wa in New York, before he went to London and transformed himself in Jimi Hendrix. Even then it was obvious we were dealing with some kind of supernatural being . No light show was necessary, or even wanted. His R&B chops were amazing; there wasn't as much of that during his "psychedelic years," although pieces of it came through from time to time.

[D. Gauss]

not good, but notable was being at the guns and roses metallica show in montreal where metallica accidentally caught on fire, and axl rose stormed off the stage (after an hour and a half delay) causing the pissed off fans to riot throughout the city..... oh canada!

 

-d. gauss

[Quin]

Originally posted by Rod CA:

Quin - It's funny you mention this. One of my roomates from college was from Bahrain, and he told me about Bryan Adams doing a show there, and he had hung out with him. I thought he was full of shit till he showed me the pictures

 

Can't remember when it was...about 6 years ago or thereabouts.

 

In terms of pure virtuoso playing, the best group I've EVER seen was the French Jazz Quartet "Latcho Drom". They are pure acoustic - and when warmed up, the fiddle and lead acoustic players play faster than any metal speed freaks - with phenomenal precision and accuracy - and the sound/vibe is incredible. They are an absolute joy to watch. Their level of performance is so good as to be humbling. They tour a lot - mainly in Europe - well worth seeing !

 

 

 

This message has been edited by Quin on 05-07-2001 at 12:16 PM

[Guest]

Every so often you hit on a night that's just transcendent. There are mediocre shows, good shows, great shows, etc., but every now and ten you hit on a show that just magical. That's when you realize what this is really all about. Interestingly, the shows I've experienced like this have all happened in smaller venues. Intimacy is probably a big factor here. A few I've experienced:

 

- Bruce Springsteen in a small theater in early 1976 (just after the release of Born to Run, before he was a big pop star). A friend was a fan and talked me into going the night before. The sound was great, the energy was completely over the top, and the feel and emotion of the show was just incredible. I walked away a true believer!

 

- The original Lowell George Little Feat , at a small college hall. A real jaw slacker- they were the ultimate musician's band!

 

- Peter Gabriel at a small club in 1982 (Rhythm of the Heat period). Unbelievable.

 

- Johnny Klegg and Jaluka- Incredible Zulu/Rock music mix long before Paul Simon. Amazing Zulu dancing as well.

 

 

And Tedster, I'm jealous! I had tickets for George Harrison in New Haven in 1974. The show was cancelled!!! Arghhh!

 

Regards,

 

John

[-]

I saw Maceo Parker at a small club in Pittsburgh last year. (One thing I've found for me... Good shows only happen at small clubs.)

 

Aside from one or two unexceptional tracks from Maceo's "Mo Roots" album, I hadn't heard any of his solo stuff before I went into the concert... Maaaaaan, did that show knock me out. Here's a guy with a quiet confidence and probably pushing 70 years old, and he just TOTALLY made this small, packed club filled with college students go wild for 3+ hours...

 

Craig, you asked why we thought particular shows were good... Well, I thought this show was amazing -- not just for the excellent musicianship, which there was an overabundance -- but because the audience was connecting so positively with something which had no drum machines, no visual gimmicks, no MTV promotion, little radio airplay, no plastic surgery sex appeal, and for the most part no vocals.

 

In other words, it was the opposite of everything that's popular on the radio... An enthusiastic audience was going nuts over incredible musicianship... What more could anyone else on this board want? http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

Here's his itinerary, if anyone's interested: http://www.maceoparker.com/itinerary.html

[Kris]

Gov't Mule- with Chuck Levell (sp?) on keys... truly a sick sick show. Nobody can play like them. Words can't really describe how bad ass these guys are.

 

Fats Domino- According to legend Fats will slide his grand piano across the stage and the further he goes, the more he has enjoyed the show, well this show he got a little more than half way. Every single song with Fats Domino is a crowd pleaser.

 

Paul Simon- His band is unreal and his voice is wonderful. What a show!

 

Neville Brothers- four brothers and incredible musicians and singers in their own right, brought up some of their kids for a few tunes and their guitar player was down right nasty.

 

John Mooney- this guy is HUGE! He plays slide guitar like no one else and at one point he was standing on top of his bass players upright bass (while the bass player was still playing of course) while playing guitar and blowing a whistle. Pulls an incredibly sweet tone out of his guitars.

 

Kermit Ruffins-the New Age King of Swing. This guy is so so so smooth on vocals and trumpet, is a legend in his own right and sings about smokin and gettin/feelin high in like 95% of the songs he played!

 

Keb Mo- straight from the soul acoustic blues

 

Iris May Tango- funky hip hop with a bad ass live band. Great melodies and rhymes.

 

oh yeah, this was all just a few highlights from the last four days..... Thank you New Orleans LA!!!!

[Chip McDonald]

PINK FLOYD: From a total enjoyment perspective: I saw Pink Floyd at a stadium once

on the Division Bell tour. The tickets were something like $24. Yet, it was the biggest/best sounding show I've seen.

 

The spectacle of it was remarkable: walking up to the stadium you see what you think is part of the stadium, this huge arch-shaped construction - then you realize *they* brought it along - and that they have TWO such stage setups leap-frogging from venue to venue. Impressive...

 

So then, it was a perfectly clear evening, mildly warm. The 4 channel sound thing was entertaining to listen to as they played various effects through it until sundown. Much different fare than the usual rawk and roll you normall get over the p.a....

 

They start playing at sundown. Amazingly clear and detailed sound. Not blaringly loud, despite being fairly close.... Perfect mix, and the use of the quad setup was brilliant and well executed. Of course the light show was exemplary; they had a seperate "theme" for each tune, great stuff.

 

Also interesting was that there were planes buzzing the stadium; at one point there was a small jet flying almost as low as the edge of the stadium, circling it. I suppose that's a testament to how big your show is if it can be watched from a plane.

 

So while it sounded and looked fantastic, it was also impressive just by the mere scale of the whole thing. Leaving, seeing the fleet of trucks they had, then their helicopters.... Makes you kind of realize how silly it is thinking "hey... maybe I'll bring the Really Super Keen Distortion Pedal to the show tonight!"....

 

NIN/David Bowie: wonderful sound, lights, yadayadayada.. The brilliant bits though:

 

Reznor had Enya playing before they started. Unlike previous times I've seen NIN, they didn't play the OMINOUS OPENING MUSIC... instead, you see Reznor up stage hiding behind the kit..

 

Suddenly in the middle of a (naturally) laid back Enya tune the lights are cut and NIN comes out, "Wish", guns blaring. VERY effective contrast.

 

The really great thing is bringing Bowie out in the middle of one NIN song and having him accompany Reznor. Then a whole song. Then Reeves Gabrels joins the band on guitar. Then his drummer. They swap out bass players for what's-her-face (can't remember her name...)...

 

Etc... So eventually it's Reznor accompanying Bowie and *his* band, then he's just playing guitar, then he's gone and it's just Bowie. No intermission, no break... they *morphed* from one band to the next, in a seamless fashion creatively using tunes in a certain order... Great stuff.

Bowie was great live; commanding presance that translates differently when he's *right there* instead of growing up seeing the Rock Icon on television.

 

Side note: I show up with a friend only to find out that someone decided Reznor's big film projector setup would ideally go right where my seats were (perfectly in the center). SO... long drawn out process, end up in a VIP section 20 feet from the stage in the center, right behind the pit. That in itself was entertaining, since Atlanta mosh pits are usually one step away from being a riot (actually, see my next entry)... the funny thing though, was in the middle of a tune Reznor hauls off and chunks me in the head with a water bottle. This girl looks at me and yells someting like "wow, cool!". I guess I was annointed by Trent or something to her, funny...

 

LOLLAPALLOOZA, ('95?): Ever been *frightened* at a show?

Ministry started playing right after sundown. The crowd was really, REALLY into it.

 

At one point I remember turning around (I was standing at the front edge of the rear "lawn" section of an outdoor shed-type venue) and seeing the moon through a haze of dirt, people, clothing, shoes... people were grabbing anything and everything, tossing it in the air... people were being thrown 20 feet in the air, they set the lawn on fire, there were huge bonfires burning... the whole place was a moshpit... one girl got picked up and thrown onto the concrete apron in front of the lawn; they took her off on a stretcher. The scary part was seeing the police show up, start to go onto the lawn area... and stopping with a look of fear on their face.

 

Metallica and the other bands were hanging out on the top of the shed, watching and videotaping it. I'd like to see that one day. I ended up crouching on the edge with my arms over my head... all sorts of things was falling out of the sky, shoes, people, coolers, bottles... it was pretty scary at one point. Ministry had to stop playing because it was literally a riot...

 

MIDNIGHT OIL: I can't remember which tour it was. Small theatre in Atlanta. They're really into it. More brilliant though is their choice of instrumentation/amplification, which is a fresh thing to hear coming off the stage: odd combinations of vintage Marshall gear with hollowbody guitars, vintage strats and oddball amps, straight up SVT sounds... Rob Hirst the drummer uses a kit put together from parts of different brands, picked for sound: a Premier tom, Tama floor tom, Ludwig kick, etc... makes a lot of sense. Great light show; understated but effective and creative for each song. Peter Garret can't sing worth a flip, but his countenance makes up for it.

 

ALLAN HOLDWORTH: 1986'-ish, with Jimmy Johnson and Coliauta. Little rinky dink punk club, during the height of the Guitar Hero era. He didn't start until about 12:20 for whatever reason... Coliauta was reading Holdsworth's stuff, and was playing just... incredible... Killer show.

 

 

GWAR: Masquerade in Atlanta. First it was free, a friend grew up with them... so I was pretty much willing to accept a puppet show if need be. BUT - they really have it together. The opening act prank they pull is brilliant, and the mayhem that ensues *non-stop* to the end is hilarious.

One would think the blood would run out, but no, it kept flowing....

Beyond that, though, they brought in their own sound and lights, and really (unexpectedly) had it together. Totally entertaining.

 

DASH RIP ROCK: I've seen these guys about 30 times probably. They are the textbook of How To Rock for an Entire Show.

 

A bass and guitar student had a band that was opening for them in I think Baton Rouge. The college girls were about 20 deep in front of the stage... fairly rocking show.

 

At the end the lights come up, and people start milling away from the front of the stage....

 

All of these girls (in skirts) had completely cut up legs... at one point things were getting pretty crazy, bottles were being thrown/broke... and just about all of them had blood all over their legs, having been cut from shards of glass bouncing around - and didn't even realize it until afterwords.

 

What's cool about that is that not only was the band totally into it, the crowd was as well - to the point of not realizing bodily injury....

 

That's what makes a "good show": the band is into it, *and* the crowd. That's what a lot of young people don't get today, is the coolness of seeing a great rock show in a small place - because there's so few actually "rocking" bands giong around. Dash is a good education in that respect I think....

 

Hmm... then there was the time a band from Athens called "Porn Orhard" cleared out a room of hardcore skin heads, made them FLEE the building, by playing so loud: I had ear plugs AND my hands over my ears, and it was STILL painful... I left (I was supposed to be "running sound"), they eventually stopped, I had to have a talk with them.... At the same place there was the time the stip bar downstairs caught on fire and all of the girls had to run out onto the side walk, that was "memorable"... Hmm. Then there was a girl in the band that crawled into the bass drum while she "entertained" herself in a carnal manner, as part of the "show"....

Hmmm... Used to be a band from Columbia S.C. called "Bedlam Hour": the bass player dressed as the Booberry Monster, the guitar player wore a grass skirt and the drummer would be "potluck", maybe Gene Simmons, maybe a wookie... They'd throw out moonpies to the audience and cook things on stage with a microwave while playing thrash music. Pretty entertaining, sort of a low-budget Gwar...

 

I'll stop now...

 

http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

[D. Gauss]

<>

 

chip,

btw, i LOVE when they pull out "fly by night!" http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

-d. gauss

[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by Anderton:

I'm also curious WHY you thought something was particularly good.

 

The whole point in going to a show to me is to see something produced from the artist that may be a "unique" happening. A rock show requires the musician to be into it, as well as the crowd. At that point it can be "particularly good" provided one likes the music...

 

Brooker, their lead singer, had a voice that sounded EXACTLY like it did on record - no studio tricks were needed. When freed from the dynamic

 

Hearing Chris Cornell in Soundgarden, back before "the Seattle Movement" hit was great: hearing someone sing so loud you can make them out over the p.a. in a small club, cool stuff.

 

It would have been cool to hear Jeff Buckley or Freddy Mercury live....

 

Also, got to see Miles Davis at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia when he had Michael Henderson on bass, Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea on

 

Wynton Marsalis used to put on an actually "rocking" show. He'd hate to hear it described that way, but it was.... He knows ALL of the cool modern jazz band tricks with dynamics, band dynamics... Killer show... BUT then, about 10 people hung around after everyone else let out....

 

.. and he comes back out playing in his old Art Blakey-blistering style. Did about 4 tunes for about 10 of us, the whole time just playing as hard and fast as possible. People talk about speed not having "feeling" or "soul": this was a very visceral thing, he was out to (as Lee would put it) bludgeon you with his and the band's chops. Great, great stuff: because when he *did* back off, he really meant it. It wasn't because he "needed to be tasteful now". I wasn't a really big fan of his until after that show; although I've yet to hear a recording of him playing that intently, save some old Art Blakey things.

 

keyboards, Wayne Shorter on sax, and Jack de Johnette on drums. They came out and just SMOKED. Miles had this reputation of turning his back on

the audience and being "difficult" on stage, but for whatever reason, that

 

You not only saw Miles, you saw him with a very cool lineup. Envy...

 

with some wa-wa trumpet licks, he just tore into the music. I realized that at least in that case, when he turned his back to the audience, it wasn't arrogance: for a few minutes, he bacame a listener to his own band.

 

People are doltish; anytime something occurs outside the norm they want to tear someone down.

 

Then there was seeing Jimmy James at the Cafe Wa in New York, before he went to London and transformed himself in Jimi Hendrix. Even then it was

 

Wow. Wow. *THAT* is the Grand Prize of Cool Shows!!! Unless someone here can prove they were at the Cavern Club and saw the Beatles there, that's the ONLY thing that could be cooler than that.... THAT is the Coolest Possible Show to Have Seen. Much envy....

 

 

http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

[Tedster]

>>>Neville Brothers- four brothers and incredible musicians and singers in their own right, brought up some of their kids for a few tunes and their guitar player was down right nasty.

 

Kris is right about the Neville Bros guitar player. I saw 'em at the Spirit Fest here in KC about three years ago (other acts on the bill, B.B. King, Delbert McClinton, Kenny Wayne Shepherd). The Bros. played a version of "Come Together"...the guitar player took a solo...nobody's ever played that song like that. The Beatles were original, and I loved it. Aerosmith rocked...but this totally kicked ass.

[Frank Frombach]

The Dixie Dregs many years ago at Cardi's in Houston. Unbelievable performance.

 

Adrian Belew and the Bears at Rockefellers, Hou,Tx. Rob & Adrian put on a great show.

 

Vallejo at The Satelitte Lounge. Grooooooove.

 

Just my .05 cent

[richt]

I was born in Britain and my parents are from there. They started dating in 1963 and shortly after went to see Little Richard with the Everley Brothers perform at a local theater in their hometown (Newport, Wales). My mother still remarks about the opening act who she says were a group of very unsavory looking characters with leering expressions, spotty faces and greasy hair. They didn't go down too well with the audience either, who booed them off the stage because they were so awful! It was the Stones! I got to see them Halloween '94 at Oakland Coluseum (Voodoo Lounge Tour). Awesome show! Ronnie Wood comes out with the devil horns on! Mick and Keith were on fire! Charlie was so groovy! Great light show, good sound (amazingly enough!)and Seal was the opening act! My brother and I got hellatiously baked beforehand, good fun! Lots more where that came from...

[D. Gauss]

<>

 

saw 'em both. i saw jeff buckley live in NYC for a showcase years ago. he sounded like freddy mercury with zep for a backing band. cool show. i got to meet perry farell from jane's addiction at that show. perry was in a zoot suit and a little zombified! saw freddy live too. years a ago (day at the races tour) at the garden with thin lizzy. don't remember much though except the queen fans and thin lizzy fans started fighting with each other and set all these banners on fire!...

 

-d. gauss

[rumpelstiltskin.]

smashing pumpkins/united center in chicago/11.29.00

the last big pumpkins show. the sound was really awful at this show, but being on the floor for the last pumpkins big pumpkins show was worth it. the atmosphere was really somber. people left the place crying and smiling at the same time. it was like losing a family member or a close friend. everyone there felt it. it was really sad and beautiful and i'm glad i got to be a part of it.

 

smashing pumpkins/state theater in detroit/07.01.98

the opened with "to sheila," the opening track on "adore" i started crying it was so beautiful and so different from anything on the radio then. that album was such a change from what anyone could have expected from the smashing pumpkins. my head was lit up when they played "for martha" and extended the instrumental at the end. that is one of the most expressive songs i've ever heard, of any format, short of maybe "bellavia" by chuck mangione. the thick emotions in the pumpkins show made me cry at least three times it was so beautiful and moving.

 

failure/the intersection in grand rapids, MI/05.97

i later saw these guys on the main stage of lollapalooza, but seeing them in a club was another world, completely. though i only saw them twice and have only bought one album, their sound has drastically altered the way i write songs. at the time people were all abuzz about electronica being the new wave, and technology affecting music in new ways. these guys used a lot of effects and MIDI-type/synth sounds from normal guitar equipment. they had a huge sound that was from another planet. the show completely blew me away, especially since i only went to see them because the guys in HUM recommended the show on their web page.

 

HUM/reptile house in grand rapids, MI/07.96

one of my favorite bands ever. this show was loud and in a small club. i don't go for the loud very much, but they hit on all cylinders in this show playing their "you'd prefer an astronaut" album just like it sounded on the record, but with more power. it was also a phenomenal emotional experience to hear these beautiful songs with friends i love, emotionally powerful in front of me. if only these guys hadn't faded away, too...

[JingleJungle]

Weeeellll...the last good' one was King Crimson last year near Varese, Northern Italy. It was an eye opener mainly for 3 things:

a) they weren't as "tight" and precise as one would xpect from Perfect Mr. Fripp (I've done a Guitar Craft Course with him and I KNOW)

b) the concert was attended by a motley group from the goth, speedmetal, intellectualoid tribes PLUS some nostalgic families in their 40s-50s bringing their adolescent kids along, who, of course couldn't understand what the fuss was all about

c) The Encore: Adrian Belew comes back on stage and performs "Three of a perfect pair" solo on acoustic guitar, singing AND playing that arpeggioed riff all over the keyboard simultaneously - just waaaay awesome.

My first concert? Started late, but I managed to see the LedZep's last show in Zurich before Bonzo died...whatta &/ç*ç shame!

"JJ" Paul

[Steve LeBlanc]

ALLAN HOLDWORTH: 1986'-ish, with Jimmy Johnson and Coliauta. Little rinky dink punk club, during the height of the Guitar Hero era. He didn't start until about 12:20 for whatever reason... Coliauta was reading Holdsworth's stuff, and was playing just... incredible... Killer show.

 

I think saw the same tour (it was definitly the same group) at Berklee in Boston, Al Dimeola was also on the same bill. I still have that ticket stub in my wallet http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif.

 

Damn Craig, I too envy you, I can only dream of what it was like to see Jimi at any period of his career.

[Lee Flier]

Great concerts.... WOW, too many to even think of.

 

CHIP, thanks for bringing up Midnight Oil because I might've forgotten. Those guys RULED! What an intense live show, indeed!

 

And Craig, I envy you seeing Procol Harum. Too cool.

 

My own favorites... well, for sheer knock-me-over factor I'd have to go for the drumming stuff, like Stewart Copeland's "Rhythmatist" show at the Fox Theatre here in Atlanta. He played with a jazz bassist plus about a dozen tribal drummers from New Guinea. Un-fucking-believable. Also the Japanese Taiko drumming group, Kodo, at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus. The sheer power and athleticism of these drummers just bowls you over anyway, and the acoustics at Royce are tops. The effect was just to get completely enveloped in this unbelievable energy. There was really no question of talking to anybody next to you or thinking about anything else.

 

I've seen STOMP several times at the Fox and it's always been fabulous. The drumming virtuosity, the athleticism and of course the inventiveness and fun of all the sounds just floored me.

 

I'll second (or third or fourth) the Meters and the Neville Brothers. Seen them both a bunch of times and can't think of one time they weren't incredible. And if you don't dance to them, you haven't got a pulse. I'll second the Dash Rip Rock votes too, these guys go all-out every show and they're a blast!

 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers through the late 70's to mid 80's were consistently a GREAT live band. Most bands have their "on" nights and their "off" nights; these guys only had their "on" nights and their "REALLY on" nights. The consistency with which they could put on a great show and really engage the audience was amazing. I think one standout favorite though, was a show I saw of theirs in Birmingham, England in 1987, the last of three at the same venue. The previous two nights, for some reason, the crowd had been REALLY listless, and the band were getting kind of sick of it. They were desperate to think of something that would wake up the crowd. Finally about a quarter of the way through their set on the third night, they were getting the same kind of response and they said "Fuck it!" and decided to do absolutely NO big "hits". All they did was B-sides and obscure album tracks and a few covers - but all stuff that the band were REALLY into! It sounded AMAZING, and the crowd totally came to life and just went nuts! Go figure.

 

I suppose this doesn't really count as a "concert" but I got to see the Rolling Stones at a REHEARSAL for their 1981 tour... and was floored. It's hard to appreciate what they really do nowadays because you have to see them in huge stadiums, but seeing them live from 10 feet away gave me a real perspective on why some people considered them "the greatest rock'n'roll band in the world". There is a palpable energy, an electricity these guys have that no one else has except maybe the Who. Boy do I regret never having seen THEM live when Moon was still with them.

 

Last I should give a huge tip of the hat to my live local favorites. The Lizardmen are about the most humble group of guys you could meet, they do mostly 60's covers and they'll do weddings and corporate parties as well as playing the intown clubs usually reserved for original bands. A lot of folks might be inclined to scoff based on that description. But... you have no idea of the intensity of the energy these guys put out, nor the sheer musical talent underlying that raucous energy. No matter where you see them, they instantly bring a place to life, and everybody starts dancing and rocking out like crazy, seemingly regardless of age or usual musical taste. Guaranteed to cure whatever ails you. That, and they've got one of the best drummers on the planet. 'Nuff said.

 

Oh yeah and I'm recording them live Saturday night! Whoopee! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

--Lee

 

This message has been edited by Lee Flier on 05-07-2001 at 06:01 PM

[Guest]

Little Feat (with Lowell George) also a campus show. There- now if you search this page you will find "Feat" 3x and "Stones" 1x. and that's about right...

 

new category -best shows in the face of adversity.

Mahavishnu Orchestra's final tour

Sonic's Rendevous in a bar with 11 people in suburban Chicago

Parliament funkadelic in mpls