Today, in honor of the 50th birthday of the one and only Steven Patrick Morrissey I thought we would discuss who your favorite music group or singer is. I would also love to hear stories of great concerts you went to or the best album you have ever heard or the time you got drunk with Ozzy. Anything music related. It is pretty much anything goes.
My favorite band now is Finger Eleven. I love "Paralyzer" but the earlier stuff is even better. Gavin Degraw and the Black keys are a close 2nd and third.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite concert was the Goo Goo Dolls in Buffalo, they played for free, in the middle of the city in the pouring rain. it was amazing. I think they made that show into a DVD.
I got to go backstage once for a Tragically Hip concert, I was too tongue tied to say anything, but Gord Downie gave me a hug. That was awesome.
Best concerts -
ReplyDeleteThe Books
Dan Bern/Ani DiFranco
Dolly Parton
Tom Waits
Yo La Tengo
Worst concert -
The Go-Gos. They were two hours late and then took the stage completely drunk. Belinda Carlisle was barefoot and kept pretend worshipping a clown oil painting. The sound was terrible and Carlisle was slurring. It wasn't as fanciful or entertaining as it sounds.
The best concert I ever went to was Depeche Mode at Radio City in 1986 during the Black Celebration tour. It wasn't the same when they started playing arenas.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Cure around the same time, also at Radio City. Goth was new at the time and the three of us looked like an 80's version of the Mod Squad. One white guy had the don Johnson wannabe look. One Black guy was wearing every designer label known to man LONG before anyone was doing that. I'm a beige chick with NJ mall hair and a black miniskirt with purple tights. The Goths thought WE were weird.
No one favorite musician, but do have a favorite CD -- Cost all of $5 at the Virgin Megastore in SF years ago, a collection of Louis Prima’s very early work, and seriously the best thing I’ve ever listened to. It’s a simple sound … not like his later heavily instrumented stuff with Keely Smith, and just the sweetest music and one of the most joyous voices I’ve ever heard.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.isound.com/louis_prima/albums/114899/louis_prima_vol_1
Fave bands: the Beatles and U2.
ReplyDeleteFave concerts: Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney, U2. (Peter Gabriel would definitely win for best stage show EVER, Paul would be my sentimental fave and U2 just ROCKS!!)
Worst concert: Steve Winwood with Warren Zevon (mainly because the sound system sucked so badly)
Although, I would have to say, one of the funniest concert moments ever: When I was in high school, my best friend and I went to see Sting in concert. I am pretty sure Melissa Etheridge opened & was the time we got lost and ended up over the bridge in Camden. (I digress), At any rate, my best friend was seated next to a man who was drunk off his ass, and had apparently brought in his own bottle of bubbly. He was passed out in the seat, with, of all things, his hand down his pants. So Sting is up there singing Roxanne, we are having an awesome time....and when Sting gets to the part about "you don't have to put on the red light" and it really picks up pace, a huge light bar above the stage lit up and was flashing and everything, waking up the drunkard who jumped up - and his pants fell down.
Yes, I am still laughing :)
I will see/buy anything involving Neil Finn.
ReplyDeleteBest concert: Ike Reilly in a overcrowded 7th St Entry (maybe 700 sq feet of space) with a crowd singing loudly along to "You Put the [c u next tuesday] in Country". (Not a perfect experience because of the ass who kept thrown beer in Ike's face)
Best concerts: Dio (Holy Diver and Last in Line) - I've never seen anyone with that much energy. The man is amazing.
ReplyDeletePrince (1999 and Purple Rain) - not exactly sure what the name of the tour was as most of that decade was a blur.
Queensryche - Ended up with backstage passes after being thrown out twice. Love love love them!
Worst concert: Dokken - blech! Fell asleep halfway through the first song. Could have something to do with the refreshments consumed before the show started, but I doubt it. :)
Thank you for making me feel extremely OLD today. lol
My favorite concert was going to Ronnie Scotts in London and seeing the Mingus Big Band. They were sooooo good. We hung out in the players bar before the show and got completely wasted.
ReplyDeleteThere was some guy there that looked at my friend and I very strangely and spoke with us for awhile. Turns out he was Sting. Which was pretty funny because we didn't even realize it. (I know I'm an idiot).
Fever Ray is incredible, if you like the knife it is basically the same thing, concert story... job 2 do, a Thai reggae group, preforming at a temple somewhere in Thailand were amazing. A bad concert story, my friend dragged me to a Gabrielle concert and before Gabrielle had even got into the set my friend pushed an ice cream into my left eye, while it was open. Quite fitting really as Gabrielle only has one eye...
ReplyDeleteAnonMom - I do love some Louis Prima.
ReplyDeleteBest Concert ever - Led Zeppelin 1977, The Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles on their last U.S. tour before Plant's son tragically died and they never came back to the states. Bonham played 45 minute solo, and the concert was nearly 4 hours. I was 14 and had the time of my life.
My Canadian peeps will know this band (you'd better!!!), the Headstones. Hugh Dillon (now a fairly successful actor, as Ed on Flashpoint, but for me will always be Joe Dick, Hardcore Logo) was the lead singer, had a terrible heroin addiction. I saw them play in my small hometown just after he cleaned up and was oh, say, 2 feet from him all night on the dancefloor, jumping up and down like a loon. They were known for playing a lovely spitting game and unfortunately for me I got caught in the crossfire between Hugh and Tim, the bassist. Well, Hugh got of the stage (still singing) and wiped my face off and hugged me. I do believe at that point, my loins exploded and I had to be carried off the floor!
ReplyDeleteOh, their music ROCKS. "Reframed" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJMvx8enpZQ or "Tweeter and the Monkeyman" which is hard to find on YouTube, but is awesome!
Jenn - Peter Gabriel is fantastic in concert. I remember the first time I saw him fall back into the audience during Lay Your Hands on my, I gasped, it was so thrilling.
ReplyDeleteLay Your Hands On Me, is what I meant to say above.
ReplyDeleteSheesh.
Rage Against the Machine!
ReplyDeleteMy two favourite shows ever:
ReplyDeleteNine Inch Nails last year in Seattle. It was my first grownup overnight trip with a boyfriend and my first time in a mosh pit. It was an incredible show.
Matthew Good. I saw the opening night of his Avalanche tour, which for some reason started in Nanaimo, B.C. I skipped school and waited for three hours in the cold to get tickets. I ended up sitting front-row centre and was on pins and needles the entire show! His voice was amazing and I got the set list at the end of the night.
I saw Fleetwood Mac last Friday and that was pretty freaking fantastic :) I could have gone home happy after hearing Secondhand News, but I stuck around for the rest.
ReplyDeleteTori Amos is orgasmic to watch live (it's like she has sex with that piano bench) and Nine Inch Nails is just killer.
Generally I'm happy anytime an artist takes the time to talk about songs they're about to play and engage the audience. That's what really makes a concert for me.
favorite concerts? toss up between clapton, bb king and cyndi lauper. can we get more diverse?
ReplyDeleteOh and actually - Philosopher Kings are GREAT live!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Morrissey!
ReplyDeleteI can't possibly pick just one favorite, or even a few. It was Duran Duran for a loooong time, but not so much in the last decade or so.
Best concert - The Rolling Stones. (1990?) It was in the Metrodome, which holds over 60,000 people, and the energy from the crowd and the Stones was unbelievable.
My favorite local band was/is The Suburbs. I can't count how many times I've seen them, starting at age 12, and they're always a great show.
Neatest concert experience - seeing P.I.L. at First Ave and having Johnny Rotten flip my friend Ed off.
Random music thought: I sure hope Dave Gahan is feeling better soon, and I hope this isn't a cover story for something really bad.
Oh, and shout-out to the Erasure show for having the most drop-dead gorgeous audience I have ever seen. I'm sure a few of them were straight, right? Please? We opposites deserve a few of the pretty ones! I guess it's like Andy sang: "Gay Sera, Sera."
ReplyDeleteBest seats I ever had were for David Bowie in the '80s, I think it was the Glass Spider tour. Anaheim Stadium on the field about 10 rows back from the stage, great concert, Peter Frampton was on guitar.
ReplyDeleteThe '80s were another time, when you could see popular groups for $30-$35 a ticket. Depeche Mode, Thompson Twins, Madonna, Howard Jones, Adam Ant etc. Now comparable seats would go for ten times the price.
I haven't been to a concert in years.
Rocket Queen - I saw Fleetwood Mac about 5 years ago and Lindsey Buckingham solo since then. Those old songs really hold up, and I think most people are blown away by Lindsey's playing. Stevie sounded as good as I'd ever heard her in 30 years of seeing her live.
ReplyDeleteBest concerts:
ReplyDeleteAlanis Morissette-Jagged Little Pill tour. Held in an old supermarket-SRO until I saw the handicap ramp. Cleared it with the kids in the wheel chairs and they let me stand behind them.
Janet Jackson-Rhythm Nation tour-best dancing ever at a concert
Toni Childs-in a old bank turned niteclub in Houston.
The Boss-anytime, any tour
Best concerts:
ReplyDeleteAlanis Morissette-Jagged Little Pill tour. Held in an old supermarket-SRO until I saw the handicap ramp. Cleared it with the kids in the wheel chairs and they let me stand behind them.
Janet Jackson-Rhythm Nation tour-best dancing ever at a concert
Toni Childs-in a old bank turned niteclub in Houston.
The Boss-anytime, any tour
@ Little Miss - yes, I gained a new appreciation for Lindsey on that guitar! Stevie wasn't able to hit the high notes anymore (that being said she had canceled the previous two concerts due to illness so I'm not sure if it was related?) and Lindsey gave us some of his solo stuff, which was all great.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I would LOVE to see Erasure.
Depeche Mode all time favorite and New Order 1st concert I went to in 1988 at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, CA at 15. Now I love all 80's to Now and Hip Hop everything Lil Wayne to Journey and Kanye. I have an 18 year old so I stay current.
ReplyDeleteCotton Bowl Summer of 1974 - rolling Stones were the headliners fronted by T Rex and the Eagles. An all day experience. At 10 am T Rex played. Not bad. Then the Eagles played. And played. And played. Keith Richards had been arrested in Louisana for having a monster knife and was held for several hours. And the Eagles played on. When the Stones finally got there at 8 pm and started playing, people just got up and left. Couldn't top 6 hours of the Eagles.
ReplyDeleteUnforgettable concerts:
ReplyDeleteBette Midler (pre Disney, when she really *was* The Divine Miss M)
at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Valentine's Day, early 80's
Dolly Parton, again at the Fox.
Jennifer Holiday with Bill Withers, again Fox Theatre.
Champagne Jam, 1977 - Heart, Bob Seger, Atlanta Rhythym Section, bunch of others.
Favorite singer is without a doubt Elvis Costello. Will listen to him at any time and he's got something perfect for every mood.
ReplyDeleteFavorite album is the Stone Rose's self titled debut. I was twelve when I first heard it, and it was the moment my musical education began to shift. To this day, it can take me to another world.
Best concert experience was the Residents in Las Vegas back in 1999 for the Wormwood tour. They put on a hell (no pun intended) of a show and I loved the props and costumes. Mr. Resident's dance as Lot was terrifying and wonderful at once. Plus, Penn & Teller were in the audience, so that was kind of cool. :)
Worst concert experience was unfortunately the Residents in San Francisco for the Icky Flix tour in 2001. The people in front of me started smoking weed and since I react VERY badly (think something resembling cardiac arrest), I had to run out of the theater and missed about half the show. :(
Favorite band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Best concert I've been to was probably Rob Zombie tho. Best story? Getting into a fist fight with some random dude on acid at the RHCP show (he was in an area he didn't have a ticket for) and using the experience to get myself free front row tickets to said Rob Zombie show.
ReplyDeleteman this is hard to narrow down.
ReplyDeletei will have to say receiving secret show tickets to a Robbie Williams concert at a very very small venue with under 300 people was pretty great.
he is a true performer and kinda awesome seeing as he sold out Wembley the week before.
David Bowie and Crowded House are very close seconds for sure.
I'm with you DN- I will listen or watch anyhting Finn related. i'm still sad Paul hung himself.
Ooh, Amazon, that reminds me - at the Glass Spider tour two strangers in the row behind me hit it off and had sex on the floor. Much more entertaining than the show, imo. He just didn't move me.
ReplyDeleteJax, I loved Crowded House too. I wasn't really a big fan until I heard them live.
BEST SHOW:
ReplyDeleteLetters to Cleo at a little hole in the wall in Asbury Park, NJ. The power went out for a bit and they sang a song I requested b/c it was my birthday. Latter on when the power came back on, Matt Pimpfield showed up to check the band out. It was an awesome night.
Best Music Festival/
Funniest Concert Moment:
I was at the MoeDown Festival in Turin, NY (Old Ski resort) during a bad storm/weak hurricane. The stage was set up at the base of the ski slope and everything was just muck, mud and soggy grass. Anyway, my group found a great spot all three days to watch the stage and also watched people slipping and sliding in the mud while the carries beers and food. We laughed until we cried.
I plain love music - Morrissey is fabulous. Hope Sandoval from Mazzy Star-incredible. Alison Kraus, David Gilmour & Robert Plant are all up there.
ReplyDeleteBest Concerts:
The FIxx
Coldplay
Tom Jones - seriously this man is awesome on stage.
Best was Prince's Musicology tour. Saw him in Vegas and San Diego. The accoustic set alone was worth the price of admission.
ReplyDeleteWorst? Hmmm, I can't think of one yet.
Back in the 70's I remember having nosebleed seats for Chicago/Doobie Brothers and due to certain grandstand activities, I had to be assisted down the stairs. I told everyone I couldn't walk down the stairs because my platform shoes were too high. Ya right.
My mom's boss owned Cellar Door Productions in the 70s and 80s (folks from the DC area will know what I mean) and we got to see awesome shows. The ones that standout are:
ReplyDeleteKISS - we had front row seats, and my brother was covered in Gene's chicken blood.
The Stones -- one of their final tours can't remember if it was 82 or 83)
The Who -- front row seats and I was amazed at how tiny these guys were.
Van Halen (w/DLR) -- went with a friend and we got into a fist fight w/ some folks. DLR looked dumb flying off the stage.
Springsteen -- Only got ok seats, my date was a Marine who was a concert wussie, so I ditched him and made my way to the front. Got pulled up on stage by Bruce and he sang to me.
WORST: Shawn Cassidy. But it wasn't really the show that sucked, it was that I was forced to go with Amy Carter. (She made my skin crawl.) It was so bad, I bailed on going backstage to meet Shawn.
Craziest Concert Moment:
ReplyDeleteMoe @ Garden State Art Center, NJ...
A random girl suddenly passed out on our blanket while we were standing enjoying the show. Before we knew it, she had puked all over herself and our blanket. Security came and took her away. Needless to say we didn't bring the blanket home......
Coolest Concert Moment:
A Night with David Gilmore/Dark Side of the Moon @ Garden State Art Center......towards the end of the concert the stage hands toted out the Giant Inflatable Pig but suddenly they lost control of it and it floated up,up, and away. It passed over the crowd, than the Garden State PKWY, and finally across the moon before it was gone. Im sure a lot of drivers that night thought they were seeing things. LOL.
Best concerts: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel (52nd Street Tour...1979?)
ReplyDeleteWorst: anything in the House of Blues in New Orleans. Dudes...you need better A/C.
This is really hard...*L* Two concerts that really stand out for me though are Iron Maiden and The Hives".
ReplyDeleteSee what I did there?
But seriously, I have been to several hundred shows in my life, I LOVE going to concerts, and I have seen a lot of really good ones. Some pretty bad ones too. I was lucky enough to catch Guns 'n' Roses in Stockholm whan Axl was having a good day - twice! I am a HUGE GNR fan and I was lyrical about it for many moons afterwards.
I've seen They Might be Giants in concert several times. Once was at a free show promoting one of their children's CDs (Here Come ABCs) at Borders store #1 in Ann Arbor Michigan. There's nothing as great as 100 little kids dancing and jumping and clapping without any inhibition, fear, or care. And then getting in the spirit with them, forgetting you're an 'adult' for a few minutes. We were afraid the floor may cave in. We hoped the floor would cave in. It was amazing. And, of course, the Giants were amazing (as always).
ReplyDeleteI've been to many concerts, but no other was so honest or pure unadulterated fun.
Why Enty, you just earned major respect in my book for posting in honor of Morrissey. Quite possibly my all time favorite singer/songwriter. Definitely on the short list, so hard to choose just one. Thank you for honoring him. I get so pissed when people say he's washed up. You do not understand or appreciate Morrissey if you can say that about him.
ReplyDeleteMost music today blows big time. American Idol has greatly contributed to the final dilution of whatever talent was left in the American musical psyche.
I used to get a lot of my new music from listening to KCRW on iTunes. But lately, even they have kind of sucked.
Lately, I have liked Fleet Foxes and The Durutti Column. If you look for it, there is good music out there, but you won't find it anywhere obvious. African and Cuban music also rocks. So much more interesting and complex than most Western music.
I saw The Stones about 10 years ago and they were pretty killer. I wouldn't pay money to see most groups today.
I would have liked to see Jim Morrison live.
I love so many bands/acts that I wouldn't dare pick just one.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you can be DAMNED SURE that I will go and see the Foo Fighters over and over and over again...they give fantastic live performances and, well, Dave Grohl IS a rock God.
Definitely worth mentioning that my very first concert was David Bowie--the Glass Spider tour back in 1987 at the old Exhibition stadium in T.O. Duran Duran opened, but this was back when they were oh, so passe, and almost got themselves booed off.
Dijea, you reminded me!!
ReplyDeleteThe Fixx was my first 18+ concert, and it was my birthday, so my friend dragged me to the roadies and they let me go right up front! Cy Curnin kissed my hand and of course, I was a mess! Great times!
I've been to a lot of fun, diverse concerts (Bowie, Paul Simon, Fogerty, Jose Carreras, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Huey Lewis!, Dr. John, Meatloaf, Tommy Makem...). We live near Milwaukee and the large music festival, Summerfest, brings in a lot of big and small groups. It was a lot of fun when I was younger.
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable concerts:
Huey Lewis - First real concert and I had such a crush. Not ashamed to admit it.
Simple Minds - My older brother knew security guards and I was front row, center during their heyday in the 80's. Jim Kerr held my 15-year-old hand during "Don't You Forget About Me" and I was flying high for a week! Became a fan of their music from that concert.
Bruce Springsteen - Any dang concert. My favorite was the Seeger Sessions tour without the E Street - it was so uplifting and at a time in my life that I really needed it. My son had just had his 4th heart surgery and life was stressful. It was the third best thing that happened to me that year.
fave band:Nine Inch Nails,Tool,U2,Smashing Pumpkins,Depeche Mode,Shack,Prick,Telefon Tel Aviv...
ReplyDeletefave Album:Prick By Prick(mix NIN/acoustic Pumpkins)and Fragile By NIN!
fave Concert: NIN at Paris (1999)for Fragile Tour! awesome! i had a backstage pass and i met the band!!Reznor was quiet and shy!Danny Lohner was too cute(Brad Pitt with dark hair and great skin) and had a Batman voice! Robin Finck and Charlie Clouser were strangely cool and funny( they liked to be shocking)!!
Hands down for me: New Order as my favorite band, album, and concert. The album would be Power, Corruption and Lies (I want Ecstasy played at my funeral).
ReplyDeleteThe best concert ever was a New Order show in 1989 at Pine Knob in Clarkston, MI. The Sugarcubes (Bjork is a tiny little doll) and PiL (Johnny Rotten mooned everyone) opened. During the New Order show they turned up the lights and the whole place was a gyrating, dancing, singing mass of humanity. I have never seen anything quite like it since.
A close runner up: I saw Wolfmother somewhere in Detroit (I don't remember where) a couple of years ago and they ROCKED. They were great!
The worst show: a tie between one of Bob Dylan's shows where he played keyboards and Cheap Trick, the later years. My husband liked them and I was way over them.
And Happy Birthday Morrissey! LOVE HIM! "All men have secrets and here is mine, so let it be known.
For we have been through hell and high tide, surely I can rely on you?
And yet you start to recoil,
heavy words are so lightly thrown.
But still I'd leap in front of a flying bullet for you."
Coloratura, you should check out The Current - our local Public Radio music station. They really play a lot of quality stuff, imo.
ReplyDeleteBest music: Steely Dan when one is stoned -- their lyrics make perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteBest concerts: This sounds lame, even to me, but Lyle Lovett (and I hate country music) and James Taylor were kick-ass.
Mooshki, I'm with you on the Duran Duran thing....we must be about the same age....I had tickets to see them this year in November and they canceled, the bums, but I've seen them several times back in the day...all good shows
ReplyDeleteAs for the Best Concert...I take that several ways, but I think one of the best concerts I've ever been to was Garth Brooks...Hate if you want, but he was a great showman and really involved the audience to create a "you're not just attending" atmosphere
Also phenomenal was Billy Joel...bf got tickets to River of
Dreams tour....it rocked.
Puddle of Mudd also ROCKED the legendary Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa with me front and center.........really really REALLY good time
Best concert I ever went to - New Order at the SECC in Glasgow, 1989. When they played Bizarre Love Triangle, the crowd went bazoinkers.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to remember who opened for them and it was the crappy acid house "A Guy Called Gerald".
ReplyDeleteWhen I was sixteen, my best friend and my boyfriend and I drove to Dallas to see No Doubt play- this was during Gwen Stefani's hot pink hair phase. The Black Eyed Peas were the opening band, and this was way before Fergie and they had a different girl in the group. After the concert we ran into the guys from BEP in the parking lot, got a few pics and autographs and while chatting with them we all realized we were staying at the same hotel across town. So instead of waiting around for a cab they were cool as hell and offered to let us ride on their bus to the hotel.
ReplyDeleteIt got even better when riding in the elevator with the BEP we discovered we were staying only three or four rooms down the hall from each other, and they invited us to come party with them and a bunch of other people in their room. There were at least a dozen people, some our age and some obviously industry-types just hanging out in a regular-ass hotel room... no fancy suite or anything. They also either didn't know or care that we were all underage because everyone was drinking and just having a good time. I remember some kid sparking up a doobie and will.i.am asking him to go smoke it outside on the balcony (he was paranoid about the hotel room smelling like pot, which I found funny.) It was just laid back, no one was being skeezy or anything, everyone just having a good time. I still have the tank top I was wearing at the time which they autographed for me, even though I don't really listen to them much (their music now is completely different than it was then)
They weren't and never will be my favorite band- I was there mainly to see o Doubt, after all- but it was still pretty fucking cool at the time, my sixteen year-old self thought, to party like a rockstar.
Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Rolling Stones, Bowie, Nat king Cole, Sam Cooke, Gino Vanelli, Elton John, Frankie Beverly and Maze, Adrianne Huff..Raphael Sadiq is a fav of mine also.
ReplyDeleteBest concert...way too many to name.
One in particular - Cleveland Stadium, 1975 (I think...hahaha) The Rolling Stones, Tower of Power and the J. Geils band....Wow what a night! My sister had taken some unknown substance, she passed out so we dragged her to the wire fence and proceeded to groove for over 3.5 hours! Upon leaving, we go and retrieve my sister still propped against the fence. Those were the days!
Seen Nine Inch Nails three times before, and seeing them again in about a week. Never fails to be an amazing show, between the music and the lights and visuals. I'm too old to handle being front and center on the floor anymore though. NIN concerts are pretty brutal.
ReplyDeleteDepeche Mode was my first concert, and it was awesome.
I saw the Smashing Pumpkins a few years ago and they were good, except that Billy went into some weird whiny tirade onstage about some irrelevant trivial bullshit, and just interacted with the crowd and his bandmates in a really douchey manner.
Went to the first Project Revolution tour, and during Snoop Dogg's performance the ENTIRE outdoor amphitheater was hotboxed, lol. Good times.
Also, I cannot freaking WAIT to see Jane's Addiction! I've been waiting years to see them, I'm so excited it's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI'll do something different.
ReplyDeleteMusic/radio (and movies, too) helped me escape when I was little. Some would say I had a terrible childhood, others (who had it worse) would say I didn't have it as bad. Either way, it wasn't good. My sister (9 years my senior) had a portable record player and a number of 45s (even an Elvis Presley 78 with 4 songs on it, I believe). I played those records as often as I could, and if I and my brother got bored, we listened to the radio. My brother even collected the weekly Chum Charts. He had hundreds, but I think he wound up throwing them away. They might have been worth some coin now.
When I was really, really young, I honestly believed the bands were playing live at the station. Until one day, I flipped the dial and heard the same song playing on another station.
As addicted as I am to tv, if I was told to make a choice between tv and radio - radio. Shortwave radio, even better. I still flip stations - can't settle on one for very long.
I'm always amazed when I hear a song and it reminds me of either a specific day (either good or bad) or just reminds me of the time during which that song was popular. I'm sure I'm not alone on this one.
And every time you mention Morrissey I get such a vivid memory of standing in the record shop in Agincourt Mall, talking to a friend (whose last name was Marr) as we went through albums and stared at the picture discs on shelves lining the walls, discussing which ones we would buy just for the artwork.
Thanks, Ent!
Ah, Mooshki, THE SUBURBS! I cannot count how many times I've seen them (and, God help us all, sang along)! During the 80's I was at First Ave/The Entry at least three nights a week.
ReplyDeleteGood times!
In June 1992 saw the Bare Naked Ladies, a Canadian band, at a PUB in London, England. They had just sold out a 20,000+ venue in Canada (which some of my future room mates had been unable to get tickets for), but the BNL were within arm's length of me in this pub.
ReplyDeleteThe day before, I had just arrived in London and met a bunch of Canadians at the luggage carousel at Heathrow and we decided to stay together (with mixed results).
I had travelled the most time zones so I had to got to bed, but the others got on a double decker bus and saw the Bare Naked Ladies. You would have to be Canadian from this era to truly appreciate this. Hence our showing up at this pub to support them.
A few months later, I saw the BNL perform in the street one rainy evening in central London, England in 1992/1993 for fans who could not get tickets to the sold out small-venue performance for mostly record label people. How fantastic.
Sigh, I'm starting to feel my age.
@Caroline New Order is fantastic, I discovered Bizarre Love Triangle when I was 16 (I'm 20 now) and they still stand the test of time in my opinion!
ReplyDeleteFavorite Bands/Singers: Maroon 5, All American Rejects, Britney Spears, Fall Out Boy, Lady Gaga
Best Concerts:
Maroon 5 - Saw them with The Hives and Phantom Planet. My seat was only a few inches away from the band and I loved being so close to Adam Levine because it was the first time I'd had seats so close
Britney Spears - Say what you will but her Circus tour is fantastic...no she doesn't sing live but she gives you a fantastic show
All American Rejects - Recently saw them at Endfest and they were perfect. Entertaining and funny as all hell and Tyson Ritter is a hottie.
love live music, seen hundreds of bands live.
ReplyDeletethe best:
pearl jam - drop in the park, 1992,free concert for 30,000 seattle fans. it was awesome. i was only 17 and its still one of the best shows i've been to.
live - at the gorge at george, wa. first time i ever bodysurfed was to lightening crashes...i was higher than a kite and convinced it was raining sparkles on me. i relive the moment every time i hear the song.
dave matthews band - again at the gorge....if you love concerts you need to see live music played here.
the worst:
everclear...broke a string and just kept playing
the gin blossoms....the entire crowd threw lemons at them
nice to see so many canadians :)
if you're looking for something new to listen to that's yet undiscovered, download daniel wesley. ooh ooh, my pony, you ain't shit, oh pretty much anything. i have a feeling he'll be well known soon. if you like surf rock you'll love him.
Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes...March 2001 they played a gig we called Jukestock. It was an entire weekend at a Holiday Inn in New Jersey and was limited to 300 fans. Most of the musicians hung out with the fans during the weekend and all of them played for free.
ReplyDeleteSeveral of the band members fronted their own groups so we were treated to five different full shows thruout the weekend. Conan O'Brien fans will recognize Mark Pender and Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg as members of the Max Weinberg 7 but to this day they still play with the Jukes when their schedules permit. Each of them had their own bands that weekend -- and both of them were in each other's band.
All five shows were a minimum of two hours, with the Saturday nite Jukes show clocking in at an amazing 3-1/2 hours. I doubt if any musical experience I will ever have again can live up to that.
Loved: Springsteen several times in the early 1980's. He always gave the audience more than its money's worth.
ReplyDeleteLoved: Probably 1982 or 1983, Johnny Cougar opened for Heart. It wasn't sold out, and it was indoors, festival seating -- which had become uncommon in the area the first few years after the Who incident in Cincinnati (a friend of mine attended that Who concert, and she said she didn't know about the stampede until after she got home that night). Plenty of room to move around. Cougar was better than Heart. Tickets were about 10 bucks.
Loved: I think my favorite was Tori Amos at Phoenix Hill Tavern in Louisville circa 1992. Small, small venue, with small tables/chairs all around the "stage" which was about a foot off the floor, just her and her piano, and I think she was barefoot the entire time. It was like having her perform in someone's living room.
Loved: Around 1994, I saw Live. They played at the dang gym where I had attended college. I don't know if they were doing an anti-Ticketmaster tour or what. Very theatrical, they sounded great, but the body-surfing annoyed me - sorry, Wonder Woman!
Hated: Collective Soul at the University of Kentucky Student Center, maybe 1994. Couldn't have seated more than 500 people, but they had the amps turned up for a stadium. Either they were too loud, or my sister and I were too old, so we left after about 10 minutes. The tickets were free, so we didn't feel compelled to stay.
Favourite concert - Down, last year in the Ambassador in Dublin. small venue, getting up close to musicians from Pantera, COC and Crowbar was AMAZING! They're playing two dates here again next month, going to both shows, and I can't wait. Also seeing the Police on tour was cool - went with my mum and aunt who were huge fans back in the day and dancing around to the music I grew up listening to was a treat.
ReplyDeleteWorst Concert - Tracy Chapman in Dublin. LOVE her, but she came on 2 hours late and only played for 50 minutes. I'd seen her the year before and she'd been brilliant, so it was very disappointing the second time.
Dream concert - Really, really want to see Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction when they play here in July, but they're playing a festival and I can't afford to pay €300. Not even interested in the other bands playing, just wanna see those two.
Wow. Where to start...
ReplyDeleteFavorites: Pearl Jam '95. Janes Addiction 1st Lollapalooza tour '91Paul McCartney '90, Adam Ant '82. Depeche Mode '85, Van Halen '08
The Police, Oingo Boingo and Madness '83-tix were like $15 for all three bands.
I always see Duran Duran Erasure, Echo and the Bunnyman, and Steely Dan-see them every time they come to town.
Dave Wakeling/English Beat/General Public plays here at least twice a year for less than $20. Always a blast.
The one band i dream to see reuntied, that i LOVE, that I never had a chance to see live, The Smiths FOR SURE. I've seen Morrissey several times, but i'm a big Johnny Marr fan so it's not the same.
Most disappointing concert: New Order '86. They were my favorite band at the time. They played for a whopping 50 minutes, constantly bitched about the lighting and sounded like shit. So so sad. For weeks people who knew I loved them would let me know how crappy they were at that show. I've heard from many people that I must have caught them on a bad night, but I got over them and never bothered to catch them live again. The Cure always disappointed me live too, and I know people love to see them but I always found Robert so boring.
I saw No Doubt last night- great show. Gwen is awesome and their ska stuff is the best.
Sunnyside1213, I cannot belive you saw T REX! I love Marc Bolan. Most fave dead rocker of all time!!
I also love New Order live, although I prefer their earlier music, the Movement EP that came right before Power Corruption and Lies. I would have liked to have seen Joy Division, as well.
ReplyDeleteEcho and the Bunnymen put on some great shows - they have that huge, encompassing sound that just takes you away from wherever you're at at the moment. The abstract sublime, for all you other art history graduates.
Suede, aka the London Suede, put on some great concerts in their heyday, as did Jello Biafra and the Dead Kennedys. But neither the musicians nor their music have aged well, in my opinion.
I wish I had seen Queen when Freddie Mercury was with them. What a fantastic performer.
Oh, and I saw one of Nirvana's last concerts, at the Roseland in New York. They were excellent, and Kurt was actually very sweet to the audience, not his angry and tortured persona at all.
Best concerts - Queen, Bruce Springsteen and Live Aid.
ReplyDeleteI was right up front for Queen and still remember droplets of Freddie's saliva landing on a guy's leather jacket right beside me. Yeah, that's how close we were.
Bruce Springsteen - saw him during the 70's in a 5,000 seat arena. Half way through the show, he crowd surfed for about 20 minutes - and sang the entire time while he was being passed around the floor. Truly an amazing concert.
Live Aid was awesome. This was the first mega concert and we knew it was part of history. We were in the stands and were close enough that we could still hear Patty Labelle (too lazy to look up the spelling) singing when the sound system when down for about five minutes. What a pair of lungs on that woman... Our seatmates were awesome too. The moment we sat down, they offered us a drink (7am). They brought one large cooler of vodka & pineapple juice, and another cooler full of ice. It was a fantastic day and experience that I still cherish.
Best concert ever .. Paul McCartney Sydney entertainment centre
ReplyDeleteFavorite concert moment was Morrissey in 2002 in Sydney again, after years of cancellations he was finally here, i was front row centre and during 'There is a light that never goes out' he held my hand as he sang the line 'And if a ten ton truck, crashes into us, to die by your side, the pleasure and the privalidge is mine' .. i promise that's true it was amazing and i was transported back to being a closeted young Morrissey fan, tho how closeted can you be when you walked around with flowers out of your back pocket like Morrissey? :-)
you have to remember i was raised weirdly. my brother was 6.5 years older than me, and my dad ruled with a cotton-covered iron fist. he really controlled the music for me in the house, and so i wasn't allowed to listen to rock for many, many years.
ReplyDeletebut i love all types of music.
so most of y'all know of my thing with jimmy buffett. all about the ocean, baby. can't even tell you how many concerts i've been to, and it was my dad's love of the beach boys (who i've also seen) that led to that.
i founded the parrot heads of southern california around '93, and the club is still strong, and one of the oldest (official) clubs out there!
so, if that doesn't make me weird enough, i've seen the carpenters (i can still amost mimic karen to a T), john denver (3 times, i think), the village people (no, i didn't know they were gay. but it was a GREAT concert!). i've probably forgotten some of the other werid ones... oh! CHUCK BERRY!
and i think my very favorites: i know several people with buffett tribute bands, of course. and A1A, with one of my dearest friends on the planet, is more fun than almost anything for me. two guys, and scotty no longer plays due to a brain tumor he's had removed twice (he's also the founder of the very first PH club, atlanta, who just had their 20th reunion), and several seizures (but, God, i love him). i've been able to see the guys play with my family, share love, laughs, and drinks, and we always have a great time.
*sigh*
okay, my stories suck. i have some great stories to me, and i'll bet i've seen better parking lot parties (and more of them) than the rest of you!! :)
see, now everybody yawned so hard they fell backwards and hit their heads.
ReplyDeletethe dreaded thread killer is back!
and i didn't even MENTION the time my grandmother took me to see liberace when he came to town. or the multiple times i've seen barry manilow.
i've also seen william shatner recite some of his very scary poetry, but i was still such a major, major trekkie, i was entralled.
Forgive me for the late post! My laptop has been in the shop for a week so I am just catching up!
ReplyDeleteMy dad took me to my first show when I was 2 years old. The Rolling Stones. He said that I sat on his shoulders the whole time saying " daddy the stones are the greatest. " over and over again ( as only a 2 year old can ). He told me just a year or so ago that he was high on mushrooms the whole time.
I love hippie parents :)