There was a thread on the other site talking about this, but it was too specific. So I'd like to just open it up (and I know there has been a thread about this in the past, but it was awhile ago). Share a concert memory or two.
I'm also psyched because Combichrist is playing my town in June. \m/
I've seen Weird Al more than 25 times. Never miss a show. Nor should you. Arguably the best showman out there. I've seen Anthrax in a venue that held 100 people, 50 showed up. They gave a show worthy of a crowd of 10,000 people, and I've been a fan ever since. I've been in fights with skinheads at Slayer concerts. I've been in fights in a mosh pit at a Dorpkick Murphy's show. I've been in mosh pits at Primus Concerts. I've seen Nirvana live. And I've seen Metallica right as they were starting to ramp up in popularity, back in 1985. Megadeth I've seen 4-5 times now as well. Nine Inch Nails had some of the best sound in a venue of all the shows I've attended. Their multimedia presentation is always worth the cost of a ticket. I've seen Yo-Yo Ma play the Bach Cello Suites live. Not this show, but holy fucking hell is he a master of the instrument. Whole audience was there in silence just absorbing the performance. I've been to 100+ classical concerts and performances. My regrets? I've never seen Flogging Molly Live. I missed seeing Baby Metal.. I never got up to Wisconsin to see Little Blue Crunchy Things. I'd love to catch Shotgun Wedding Symphony live.
Meh. I'm not a Springsteen fan; his concerts look like a normal pop concert. I've asked people in the past what the difference between , say a Katy Perry concert and a Springsteen concert. Michael Jackson was a showman, so was Prince. And I am not a fan of either but I've watched concerts because the spectacle was amazing. I stand on this statement.I've seen Weird Al more than 25 times. Never miss a show. Nor should you. Arguably the best showman out there.
I got to see John Maus earlier in the year. He hasn't toured in seven years or so. My wife wanted to get tickets to see him in New York and I just can't hack that kind of plane ride to see a show so I was glad he came to town. I missed The Residents who I've seen before but I thought my wife would dig it. A friend of mine worked security at the venue they were going to be at and he told me he'd get me in so I didn't buy tickets. He quit a few weeks before the show. Ah well. I should see if Shellac is coming to town any time soon, they usually play the best show I'll see all year.
I saw Tegan and Sara something like 119 times over the course of ten years. The first was at Atomic Records in Milwaukee, a now-closed indie record store. They put on such an enjoyable show, and I was hooked. Memorable Tegan and Sara shows... There's this one. The background is some of my friends and I had gone to several shows in a row, and Tegan had botched this song pretty much every night. There are probably others, but I'm blanking. The DVD recording was memorable but not necessarily amazing. I used to say out of ten shows, Tegan and Sara would put on eight decent shows, one bad show, and one that just killed it. I don't say that anymore. They change something, and now it's just ten good shows. The magic is gone, and since 2014 I only go to shows if they're nearby or if a friend asks me to go (and even then is still pretty close). Their last two albums being terrible albums recorded by good musicians contributes to that. Now I hike instead.
Jucifer albums Jucifer live Half the fun of their shows is watching the people trying to decide whether they came on the wrong night.
KMFDM consistently blows the walls off the joint. As others have said, nine inch nails puts on an incredible show. Saw them on the Fragility tour in 2000, and then twice more in 2006. This was during the resurgence of Angry Trent, and since I was in an ugly place myself, it fit perfectly. Got to see them in my hometown of Richmond, with Saul Williams as the opener. Then I saw them again in Virginia Beach about 3 months later at one of those outdoor amphitheater places. We had pit tickets, and were early enough that my friend, brother, and I were in the second row of people from the stage. The openers were TV on the Radio (more on them in a second) and Bauhaus. The former doesn't carry over into a big venue that well, but Bauhaus rocked out better than I expected. Then nin came on just as the sun was going down, and blew the place away. Less a/v-centric than the previous shows, but definitely more raw, especially since we were so close. So speaking of surprises, TV on the Radio. Some friends and I were going to see The Faint up in Washington, DC, and this would've been 2005 or so. The opener was some band I'd never heard of, called TV on the Radio. My friend played a song or two for me before the drive, and they seemed interesting. And holy shit, these guys are amazing live. They lose themselves into it like no one other...recordings just don't do 'em justice. Other surprises: Juno Reactor remains one of if not the single best show I've ever seen. A bunch of South African guys (and IIRC one Australian Aborigine) playing drums live and just going nuts. Again, recordings can't capture it. They Might be Giants are great live, but consistently have the most obnoxious fans ever. Won't stop yelling requests, talking through the openers, all kinds of stuff. I've seen them live several times, and the crowds have sucked every time. I saw Smashing Pumkins in like 2009 or '10, and was pretty bored. My first kiss was after a club show in Columbus, Ohio in 2001 that was System of a Down, with Mindless Self Indulgence as the opener. MSI was surprisingly good, and getting to see System of a Down in such a small venue was incredible. GWAR, from my hometown, is amazing. Honorable mentions: Lords of Acid, 16 Volt, Pig, Stromkern. And I'm really looking forward to Combichrist.
I saw Moon Hooch with my sister about 3 years ago. It was shortly after she got her driver's license, so she drove us both and we just shot the shit on the way, which in some ways was the beginning of us getting close as adults that enjoy each other's company, rather than just kid brother and sister. So already that was cool. The concert was also insane. The guys are weird as fuck (as you might expect from a sax-and-drums band that met at the New School), but they know how to make people dance. When Wenzl brought out the traffic cone everyone went wild. I was a little worried that they wouldn't sound like they do on the records, but they somehow manage to create that crazy electro dance sound with totally live & acoustic instrumentation. Good times.