Casual Conversation

Rob Zombie put on a hell of a show back when I saw him a decade ago. More recently, Municipal Waste was sick. Their mosh pit was a blast.

My wife assures me the Rush concerts we saw were the best.

I don't know any of the songs and couldn't understand a word they were singing.

I think the best I saw on my own were early Blues Traveller, just when their 2nd album came out, and a guy named Chris Smither.

After the show he was in the lobby talking and shaking hands with people. Super nice guy.

Easy. The Wall! The Roger Waters 2010-2013 tour, not the Berlin one, lol

Probably when I saw Snarky Puppy in my hometown of Aalborg, Denmark. In the jazz-fusion world they are very well-known, but I never expected them to do a stop in my town of a 100.000 people. I brought a friend who had never heard their music before at all, and we got 2nd row seats. He was blown away, and afterwards we got selfies with Michale League, the bassist of the band.

Ooof. Tough question.

Probably one of:

Iron Maiden, Sheffield City Hall, Somewhere on Tour, 1986
Metallica, Sheffield Arena, 1992
Depeche Mode, supported by Sisters of Mercy, Crystal Palace, 1993
Sisters of Mercy, the Fenton pub, Leed, 1996
Primal Scream / Alabama 3, Rock City Nottingham, 1998
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Brixton Academy, 2001

Big arena things like Metallica at the Sheffield Arena are so different to intimate pub gigs like the Sisters of Mercy at the Fenton that it's really hard to compare.

U2 at Massey Hall in 1983. It was the "War" tour. They weren't well known at that point - we bought tickets the day of the show. They were also still professing Christianity and there was a big "John 3:16" banner across the balconies. But Holy shit the energy!

They began to blow up on "The Unforgettable Fire" tour the next year. They played Massey again at the beginning but by the end they were playing much larger venues.

I've seen so many. Stevie Ray Vaughan at the Variety Theater in Cleveland, Oh, USA, in 1984. He was new to the scene, and he played from his heart. It was pure and moved me in a way few other musicians have. I saw him 6 more times before he died.

Motorhead at the same Variety Theater, maybe 1985. It was the loudest show I've ever seen. The ceiling fell in chunks, and they had to stop the show before the building broke apart. Absolutely incredible.

Equality Rocks in Washington DC, 2000. Melissa Etheridge, George Michael, The Indigo Girls, k.d. lang, Pet Shop Boys, and more.. all in one place. The entire RFK Stadium was silent for Melissa Etheridge's Scarecrow. It still makes me cry.

Halestorm, Lita Ford, and Dorothy in Raleigh, NC, USA. We went for Halestorm- Lzzy has one of the best voices in rock, ever. I was super psyched to see Lita Ford- I've been a fan since her Runaways days and haven't seen her live. But for me, the showstopper was Dorothy- an unknown who's song Gun in My Hand echoed in my head until I was able to buy her album months later when it was released. I've seen her 4 times since.

Orianthi in November 2023, Detroit, MI, USA. She had incredible talent, and being able to see her in a small club with a few hundred people is an experience I will never forget. She, like SRV, plays from her heart. She rocked that place. I also saw her in Colombis, OH. I can't wait to see her again. Ori, if you see this, I think that I know you. I had my hands up to show you.

Last was my most recent concert, 12 July 2024. Amanda Marshall and Colin James at The Budweiser Stage in Toronto, Ontario, CA. I heard Amanda and Colin on the 96 FM from London, Ontario, across Lake Erie in 95 or 96. Amanda's Let It Rain blew me away. Her voice is incredible. Colin's Voodoo Thing was one of the most fun Texas Blues sings I've heard since SRV. I saw Amanda in 1997 or 98 when she was just starting out. She was great. Then she had a fight with Sony Music CA and didn't record or play for 25 years. I own every album either of them have recorded. All of Amanda's compilations and everything Colin did from blues to big band. The July show was the first big show since Amanda returned. It was pouring rain as I walked into the amphitheater. I was in the second row, dead center. Colin opened with Voodoo Thing, and it only got better. I was on my feet from the beginning of the set to the end. I sang every word. Colin was everything I hoped he would be. I'm going to see him again this month. Then Amanda took the stage. The emotion was palpable. She opened with Let It Rain and never slowed down. I, a 57 yr old guy, sang every word along with the women on my right and the couple on my left. We were all on our feet dancing and singing the whole show. Amanda's voice, timing, sense of humor, and musicality have only gotten better. I look forward to seeing her again soon.

It depends a lot on what you're looking for. Iconic bands? Probably Neil Young with Crazy Horse or Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Best production was probably Trans Siberian Orchestra.

The Moody Blues were damn fun to watch. They were pretty old by the time I saw them, but they sure looked like they were having fun. It was infectious.

Phoenix is just something else, saw them twice, Love Like A Sunset is a unique experience. Love their energy and how they interact with the crowd!

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Leeds Rollarena July 1973

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, they put on a great show.

This is a really hard question, so many gigs to choose from. I'd probably choose a VNV Nation gig I went to in Slimelight, London. They were famous (in the goth scene, at least) at that point but did an intentionally small gig for the old fans.

A close #2 would be The Dead Milkmen at a gig in Marburg back in the 90s. Was the first time I heard the grunge sound, and I thought it was excellent.

So much good music, so little time...

There's a bar/cafe 20 mins away that has a stage and live music most every night. The crowd's only between 5-30 people depending on the act. Last month I caught a local goth band with two industrial duos from out of town opening, it was my favorite concert in recent memory. Support your local music scene!

I've never been a concert but if I was going to become one, I'd like to be a Gwar concert.

Hard choice, so so many, a few highlights

X and Black Flag, Cookoo's Nest, 1979

Pretenders, Perkins Palace, 1981 (Bruce Springsteen joined for encore, Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher)

Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense Tour, Greek Theatre, 1983

Dave Nelson Band, Galaxy Theater, 1999

Buffalo Springfield, (opening act Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings) Wiltern Theater, 2011

Chick Corea and Bella Fleck, Royce Hall, 2014

MUSE - Simulation Theory

Pretty much any Welle:Erdball concert.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, supported by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, at the Coogee Bay Hotel in 1985, or maybe '86.

Arrived nice and early, just the right amount stoned, and got right up front leaning on the stage.

Gorillaz, Demon Dayz Festival LA in 2018. There was so much going on, so many artists to see and it was a blast. Damon gave it his usual best and the song selection was on point

Probably deicide at wacken last year

Saw The Pretenders a couple of weeks ago and it was really really good - better than i expected. Saw Echo and the bunnymen recently and that was fun. My family loved seeing Peter Murphy - i drove 13 hours to get home for it and it turned out to be SRO. Jon Anderson in a very small venue was great.

A couple of standouts were The Clash in 1982 at the St Paul Civic Center.

2024 The Kills @ First Avenue in Minneapolis. The filthy things Jamie did to that guitar.

This Flaming Lips show was quite an experience. They played the entire album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots , took a bit of a break, then played a whole other set. So much confetti.

Springsteen

I’ve seen him with the band in big venues and solo in tiny theaters. Best show was a Philly warehouse when I was in the front row, maybe 8 feet from him

Muse for the Simulation Theory tour. Marching bands, lasers, smoke cannons, Murph... it had everything.

Got ridiculously stoned and saw the Remain In Light tour earlier this year! I might not recall much from the concert itself but I was seriously just living in the moment, vibing hard-core with the music, just crazy to see Adrian Belew's crazy guitar shit live. In that moment I was truly happy for once.

I once sent a friend this clip to explain who I was going to see that night- Austin Lucas. He's one of the artists I tell people about when they think that all country music is the same. Great singer, great storyteller. I had to explain to my friend that Emily Barker wouldn't be there, as awesome as that would be, but I was still super psyched to finally see Austin in person.

He transformed that small back room in a dingy London pub into a raw hug of emotional energy. He was off the stage, circled by a small crew just vibing and loving what he was sharing, watching the tears in his eyes.

And then he said his friend was in town, and he'd like to welcome Emily Barker to come and sing.

A Foo Fighters concert years ago in Auckland, New Zealand where Dave Grohl burped in the middle of a chorus and kept on trucking. Automatic winner for me

• Lisa Hannigan at the Independent.
• Manu Chao at the Greek.
• Jorge Drexler at Bimbo's.

Been to*

I could never pick a favorite but one of the ones that always sticks with me was My Morning Jacket when they played the Sasquatch Festival.

Another really memorable one was the Bad Plus (a jazz trio if you're not familiar). They're crazy good musicians.

I’m not really a fan of concerts, but last year, my sister and I went to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert and it was absolutely phenomenal.

Some flutist organization in chicago had a concert in the park with jethro tull. Im pretty sure they played their most flute heavy songs due to the folks who set it up. You could listen free from the grass area outside the Petrillo Music Shell. There was another dude there and we were almost crying. I saw them at chicago theater in the year he was sick and his voice was off. The one at the park was beyond words.

I've seen Meshuggah like 3 times and every time they get better. The crowd is a big part of it but they put on a hell of a show regardless.