Fave/Best Concerts

[+ Truereview]

Was thinking about what Divas I have seen. I think only two.

 

Diana Ross which I mentioned above.

 

And Whitney Houston--the worst concert I ever saw.

My mom is a big Diana Ross fan and so was my uncle. They went to a concert in Central Park back in the 80s. They went two days in a row. I was too young to understand their emotions when they returned from that trip. A few weeks back, Mom and I were reminiscing about my uncle (who was gay) and about their trip. She said she never felt closer to him than at that concert. We looked up the concert in YouTube and we had a good cry together. Now I get their emotions...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmc8Y8p0KII

[tennisjock]

My favorite in no particular order are:

ELO

Tina Turner

Go gos

Blonde three times

Journey 3 times

Rolling Stones

Diana Ross ..such a glamorous lady

Michael Jackson

Rick Springfield back in the day

Cyndi Lauper

Elton John

George Michael

Devo

David Bowie

Jimmy Buffett three times

Oldchella two months ago in Indio California with

Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Neil young, Paul McCartney, The Who and Roger Waters..wow each played a good 2.5-3 hour set ..two a night for a three day blast.. front row and was awesome

[+ quoththeraven]

And maybe...BTS, March 2017, Prudential Center. Tickets are not on sale yet. I have to call the box office to find out about this because I expect tickets to sell out quickly. They did when BTS headlined KCON NY at this location earlier this year.

 

Spoke to someone at the Prudential Center box office who didn't know anything about the event, as it's not on their official schedule yet nor are tickets yet available, but she told me to check Ticketmaster first, as the box office only sells those seats Ticketmaster hasn't.

 

*goes off to bookmark Ticketmaster website*

[+ Truereview]

Seriously? 800,000 people? Early 80s? In the rain? Middle of an outdoor park? diva hair?

Could I have been there, this would probably be my fave concert. I kneel to Ms. Ross

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9BE6F5MfQY

[Elvis]

Mozart, 1791, Vienna

 

or me, in the shower

[fedssocr1]

This is one of those impossible to answer questions...

 

But

REM - 1986 on the Life's Rich Pageant tour - St. Pete Bayfront Arena with my college roommate and a couple of our dorm neighbors. My first time seeing REM. Still my favorite album of theirs. Stipe ran off stage at one point to everyone's surprise. Not sure what drugs he was on.

 

Modern Dog - Knitting Factory NYC Summer 2006 - their first ever US show. Basement of the Knitting Factory was so hot the walls were sweating. Me, about 4 other westerners and 100 Thai college kids. Thailand's most important indie band that influenced every Thai rock band that came after.

 

James - 930 Club in DC - not sure the year...maybe 2011 or so. They are the most incredible live band. They change the set every show. Improvise on stage regularly. Just mesmerizing.

 

CNBLUE - Yokohama Arena April 2015 - I became obsessed with CNBLUE in early 2015. Made a special weekend trip to Japan from DC to see them play live in person. Got one ticket from a fan club member and one for the second show via a ticket broker. They're a Korean "idol band"...they play their own instruments, no dancing. Very talented guys. It was me, 13000 Japanese and foreign girls/women, and maybe 100 other guys. Definitely worth doing once and the show was later released on DVD so I can relive it.

 

Spandau Ballet - 930 Club DC, April 2015 - Two days after returning from Japan. I had a giant smile on my face all night. Tony Hadley's voice has not changed one but since the 80s. The band seemed to be having a great time and the sold out club sang along to every song.

 

The Hoodoo Gurus - The Black Cat DC - not sure the year, early 2000s maybe. Another of the most incredible live bands. They take requests in the middle of the show.

 

The Connells always put on a fun show too back in the day.

[body2body]

Talking Heads Stop Making Sense Tour at the Greek Theater at UC Berkeley (with a wink to pitman!). Overheard on the way out, "I went in a Dead Head but I'm coming out a Head Head!"

 

Shriekback at the Pauley Ballroom UC Berkeley

 

Stan Ridgeway (Wall of Voodoo) at the I Beam

 

Gary Neumann at the SF Warfield

 

Romeo Void at the Warfield

 

U2 at the Bill Graham Auditorium (not sure if it was till the Civic Center Auditorium back then)

 

Gene Loves Jezebel at the I Beam

 

Peter Gabriel at the Bill Graham (see above)

 

ARMS Charity Concert at the Cow Palace (Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton....)

 

I miss the 80s! ( I miss my youth!)

Oh my God, Romeo Void was fantastic, somewhere I still have their 4 song EP with Never Say Never which has to rank as one of the great songs to come out of the Post Punk scene of the early 80s. The refrain ...I might like you better if we slept together. Debora Lyall was a force of nature. Thanks for the reminder.

[+ WmClarke]

Oh, yeah, I also saw Culture Club this year. They were really good--13 total performers on stage.

[+ quoththeraven]

CNBLUE - Yokohama Arena April 2015 - I became obsessed with CNBLUE in early 2015. Made a special weekend trip to Japan from DC to see them play live in person. Got one ticket from a fan club member and one for the second show via a ticket broker. They're a Korean "idol band"...they play their own instruments, no dancing. Very talented guys. It was me, 13000 Japanese and foreign girls/women, and maybe 100 other guys. Definitely worth doing once and the show was later released on DVD so I can relive it.

 

I'm a fan of their labelmates FT Island, especially their lead singer, Lee Hongki. They are also more popular in Japan than they are in Korea.

[escortrod]

I worked on Live8 and MakePovertyHistory (MPH), and thus got golden circle tickets for the Live8 concert in Hyde Park, and front row seats for the 6th July 2005 MPH concert in Murrayfield stadium in Edinburgh. Both were fantastic, though the Murrayfield one was my favourite, especially when it started raining as Coldplay started playing 'Why Does it Always Rain on Me'. Annie Lennox was also brilliant at that concert. I've been pretty much obsessed with her ever since.

 

My favourite concert experience, though, was seeing the Pet Shop Boys at the O2 for their Electric tour in 2013. They're great performers, I love their music, and the laser light show they organised was genuinely spectacular. The O2 is also a brilliant venue. Can't wait to see them again.

[+ WilliamM]

I worked on Live8 and MakePovertyHistory (MPH), and thus got golden circle tickets for the Live8 concert in Hyde Park, and front row seats for the 6th July 2005 MPH concert in Murrayfield stadium in Edinburgh

 

I live in Philadelphia, but was in Europe (Paris, Milan) during the Live8 concert here. Thanks for mentioning the Live8 concert in Hyde Park. YouTube

has a selection of videos from the various concerts. I live close to the venue in Philadelphia, and heard stories from neighbors about both the concert and the crowds of people.

 

Really helpful post, because there are also DVDs available of the concert in Philadelphia.

[fedssocr1]

I'm a fan of their labelmates FT Island, especially their lead singer, Lee Hongki. They are also more popular in Japan than they are in Korea.

 

I've tried, but just can't get into FT Island. Primarily because of Lee Hong Ki, I think. I watched their label's "reality" show and he comes off as a bit of an immature prick. But his voice just doesn't work for me. The other guys in the band are adorable though.

 

I think the Korean pop scene just doesn't really like rock bands. So they have to spend more time in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. CNBLUE's Korean albums are much more pop-oriented and boring to me. But the Japanese releases are great. I just wish that Warner Japan would release their concert DVDs with English subs for the talking parts. The Korean FNC-released DVDs do it. It shouldn't be that hard.

 

The Korean Indie scene is pretty vibrant though. Lots of interesting bands there like The Solutions (most of their songs are in English) and Phone Booth.

[Rod Hagen]

Any and every prince concert.

 

I don't love Bon Iver, and after their last two efforts I now hate them (but that doesn't mean I now like Grizzly Bear). However, when Bon Iver was good they did a concert at Dawn at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It was beautiful, the free coffee was quite good. (That's the sun rising in the east, not a raging desert fire)

[MEDIA=vimeo]8714648[/MEDIA]

 

Explosions In The Sky, also at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, was one of the best:

 

The National at The Wiltern rocked MUCH harder than I expected.

 

And Godspeed You Black Emperor at a Church in Koreatown was like having my ears raped, and wanting more:

Can't find a clip, sorry. But here's some stage diving at a VERY fun No Age concert in McArthur Park. The security guards were FREAKING the fuck out because they were used to classical music in the park, not us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I6Cry2_DyM

 

And of course there's no video of the multitude of concerts I'll never forget at First Avenue and Seventh Street Entry in Minneapolis. At the time, that was the place, and Prince and Bob Mould and Paul Westerberg were the men. But goddam Some of the others were fun too. Good times.

[+ WmClarke]

Neville Brothers at Tipitina's in New Orleans in 1988. How could I forget that one?!

[+ quoththeraven]

I've tried, but just can't get into FT Island. Primarily because of Lee Hong Ki, I think. I watched their label's "reality" show and he comes off as a bit of an immature prick. But his voice just doesn't work for me. The other guys in the band are adorable though.

 

I think the Korean pop scene just doesn't really like rock bands. So they have to spend more time in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. CNBLUE's Korean albums are much more pop-oriented and boring to me. But the Japanese releases are great. I just wish that Warner Japan would release their concert DVDs with English subs for the talking parts. The Korean FNC-released DVDs do it. It shouldn't be that hard.

 

The Korean Indie scene is pretty vibrant though. Lots of interesting bands there like The Solutions (most of their songs are in English) and Phone Booth.

 

I recently watched all of the reality show about FT Island other than the final episode containing the concert, which appears to have been blocked due to copyright claims. Yes, Lee Hongki comes off as a little immature, but he's refreshingly honest and in my opinion right that it was a mistake for the band to spend so little time together and that they should get together regularly, even if just socially. I have more issues with leader Choi Jonghoon.

 

(Lee Jaejin and Choi Minhwan getting their hair waxed in the first episode was just hilarious. I kept trying to figure out if they only got their chest hair removed or what. Props to Jaejin for being a waxing enthusiast.)

 

If Lee Hongki's voice doesn't work for you, it doesn't work, but I really love it. And because I never miss an opportunity to plug a band I like, here's a live performance of their latest single, "Take Me Now," for which Hongki co-wrote the lyrics and music, from their 2016 album Where's The Truth.

An informal acoustic version fueled by 25 bottles of soju shared by the five bandmembers. Hongki's voice suffers some, but not that much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRLloBlg2I8

The only Korean indie rock band I know is Nell, and given that their label is now owned by the label in South Korea, I don't know if they qualify as indie anymore. But they don't rock as hard as FT Island does nowadays.

[Rod Hagen]

Here are some more awesome ones.

 

Dolly Parton at the Hollywood Bowl:

 

Leonard Cohen at the Nokia Center:

 

And OH MY GOD Sigur Ross at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Pay attention to 3:27 when the transparent curtain drops, AMAZING.

 

Oh and I wasn't at this concert, but this is a great live track of my favorite GSYBE (the ones I saw at Immanuel Church in Koreatown) song. If you don't know them, be patient. It builds to something devastating.

[slightly]

Midlake - 2007 - they were touring for The Trials of Van Occupanther and I was close to the stage - made eye contact with Tim Smith and he sang to me

 

Midlake - 2010 - they were touring for The Courage of Others, the last album Tim did with them - they had 5 guitars on stage at the same time and they played long, richly layered jams before breaking into album tracks

 

The Polyphonic Spree - 6 times - always uplifting and quite a spectacle - they had between 22 and 29 musicians on stage when I saw them and I got pulled on stage at the end of one of their shows - I was dancing and trying not to step on anyone's pedals

 

Beck - 2008(?) - I saw him at Across the Narrows and it was such a good show - in the middle of the show, a table lowered onto the stage and the band sat down for dinner while Beck continued to perform by himself - slowly, they started banging on plates and cups over the next few songs until they had fully joined in

 

Sonic Youth - 2006 - they were touring for Rather Ripped and I saw them in the McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn back when it wasn't a pool and concerts happened there - the audience was in the empty pool and the band was on the edge - Kim asked where the water was

 

Yeasayer - 2016 - I've been a fan since All Hour Cymbals in 2007 and finally got to see them at Irving Place - probably one of my favorite shows of all time - they were just brilliant

 

Dolly Parton - 2016 - on her Pure and Simple tour - she's incredibly amazing and shares SO MUCH LOVE!

 

of Montreal - 2 times - not nearly enough - the show is like a fun circus, much like the music - Kevin Barnes is truly a show-man and I love that he manages to incorporate melancholy, longing, heartache in his lyrics with a bouncy beat

 

Xiu Xiu - 2010 - another band I have been a fan of for a long time that took me a long time to see - they were touring for Dear God, I Hate Myself - I have never been a to a louder concert, and I've been to some pretty loud shows - this was my birthday present to myself

 

Pansy Division - 4 times - I saw them over several summers at Pride festivals in the NE US - I always had them sign my underwear after the show

 

Live - 1995 - I saw them at Great Woods when GW was GW - PJ Harvey opened (she was great) - this was when they were touring for Throwing Copper (the last time they didn't suck) - in the middle of the show, they set up a living room complete with couch, rug, lamps, coffee table and then they played acoustic covers of Guided by Voices songs

 

Metallica - 1993 - another show at GW and the first time I ever got stoned - back when they still made songs that clocked in over 8 minutes and with my favorite line-up

 

There are tons more that I loved, but these are the ones that stand out at this moment.

 

So envious of your gig history Mr Hassan! So many of these bands I have yet to see live, like Of Montreal and Yeasayer. Xiu Xui is a particular fave, and Jamie singing Suha is on my top 5 of special gig moments!

 

@Rod Hagen, did you find that The National had a much harsher sound live, I thought Matt was straining his voice on a lot of the songs to keep up with the energy of playing live. I also need to catch Explosions in the Sky live, I just imagine that would be bliss!

 

Hmmmmm, fave gigs:

 

The Strokes at Alexandra Palace (2003), waves upon wave of human bodies pushing and shoving. my feet actually left the ground and floated on numerous occasions!

 

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the forum (2004)....Karen O is fucking nuts on stage in the most wonderful way.

 

Xiu Xiu Larsen at Cafe Otto (2012?). Jamie went crazy on the percussion at the end of this song when I saw them:

 

 

Balmorhea, any time their in London

 

 

Radical Face at the union Chapel in 2013 (the best music venue in London, IMO). Here's him doing his most famous song live:

 

 

Hehe, I wish there were better live recordings of the actual gigs I went to, but oh well.

[Bearofdistinction]

Rather than argue about politics or (God forbid) Kanye West, how about sharing your favorite concert experiences?

 

In approximate chronological order:

 

The Doors, SPAC, 1968 - My first ever rock concert. Jim Morrison wore his iconic outfit: black leather pants, poufy white shirt, conch belt. They performed "The End," "Unknown Soldier," and "Light My Fire." 'Nuf said.

 

Renaissance, Binghamton, 1975 or 1976 - Basically the same performance as that memorialized on Live at Carnegie Hall. Annie Haslam slayed.

 

David Bowie, Carrier Dome, Serious Moonlight tour, 1983 - What can I say? Bowie at the height of his popularity and power. He even took a stab at "Free Bird" when someone (jokingly) called for it.

 

Howard Jones, SPAC, 1984 - Jones opened for the Eurythmics. I arrived an Eurythmics fan; I left a Howard Jones fan, deeply impressed that Jones performed all by himself. (Mime Jed Hoile provided theatrical, but not musical, assistance.) As a pianist, I've always had a fondness for synths and keyboards.

 

Jefferson Airplane, SPAC, 1989 - Because I got the tickets through work (a national CPA firm), I had front row seats for Grace Slick & co, my idols from the 60s and early 70s.

 

Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Bergen PAC, 2014 - Best concert I've been to in awhile. Randolph plays pedal steel guitar (looks like a keyboard, but isn't) and is on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Best Guitarists. Funk crossed with R&B crossed with gospel. Closest thing to Sly & the Family Stone since Sly & the Family Stone.

 

And maybe...BTS, March 2017, Prudential Center. Tickets are not on sale yet. I have to call the box office to find out about this because I expect tickets to sell out quickly. They did when BTS headlined KCON NY at this location earlier this year.

 

Several highly memorable ==

 

Cyndi Laupers True Colors Tour -- A Benefit for HRC

Featured - Cyndi/Debbie Harry/The B-52s/Rosie O'Donnell/Margaret Cho/Joan Jett and the Blackhearts/ and a lot more I do not recall -- the concert went on for 5 hours at the Borgota Casino in Atlantic City and tickets were about a $100 and you could go in and out

 

Elton John - with a Full Orchestra -- No production numbers or costume changes -- He just came out walked across the stage - waved at people went back to the piano

and started to play and sing. Every 4-5 songs he would do the same walk -- shake hands - take flowers and pose for pics. Security was very cool -- but once you got your pic/shake/etc - gotta go to make room for someone else. Elton played for 3.5 hours!

 

Tina Turner - Farewell Tour - and She Meant It!!!! Pure Tina - Pure Fire - and she had just turned 70 and out danced the 20something backup group!

[+ pitman]

Here are some more awesome ones.

 

Dolly Parton at the Hollywood Bowl:

 

Leonard Cohen at the Nokia Center:

 

And OH MY GOD Sigur Ross at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Pay attention to 3:27 when the transparent curtain drops, AMAZING.

 

Oh and I wasn't at this concert, but this is a great live track of my favorite GSYBE (the ones I saw at Immanuel Church in Koreatown) song. If you don't know them, be patient. It builds to something devastating.

 

At the AFI Film Festival in LA (2006) I attended a screening of the Sigur Ros film 'Heima'. Before the screening the band appeared on stage unannounced and played for 30 minutes. Pretty awesome.

[Rod Hagen]

 

@Rod Hagen, did you find that The National had a much harsher sound live, I thought Matt was straining his voice on a lot of the songs to keep up with the energy of playing live. I also need to catch Explosions in the Sky live, I just imagine that would be bliss!

 

Yes Yes Yes. Both times I saw The National the sound was much harsher and I loved it. I mean, normally Mr. November is simply pleasant. But live, Mr. November is a battle cry. "I won't fuck us over I won't fuck us over I won't fuck us over I'm Mr. November."

 

Explosions in the Sky live was really something else, bliss. However, the most recent LP is so fucking unforgivably bad, I pretty much insist each member deep throat me till he pukes before I buy their next one.

 

A really Really great show was Bob Mould 1996 at the Guthrie theater in Minneapolis. It was just him and an electric guitar and all the strings he had to replace lol.