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.
I agree with your wife. And if you weren’t singing along to every word of YYZ, you’re a rube.
That would require I know the words to YYZ. :)
You already do. Trust me, look them up.
I’ll bet you know the lyrics to the only popular Eiffel 65 song ;)
I missed my chance to see Rush, but I did get to see Primus covering Rush, and that was pretty dope
Easy. The Wall! The Roger Waters 2010-2013 tour, not the Berlin one, lol
It’s a shame he’s a total POS in real life
Wow my memory is bad - I’d forgotten I had seen them live until I read this. I had to look up their tour history to figure out that it must have been the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. Listening to their albums now I much prefer the earlier stuff, but they still put on a good show in '88.
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.
I saw him at the show where Marilyn Manson passed out on stage. He put on his amazing show then went on to handle most of Manson’s set.
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.
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, 2001Big 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.
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.
Removed by mod
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Leeds Rollarena July 1973
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, they put on a great show.
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.
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…
Damn it, I forgot Bauhaus. Is it too late to change my mind?
I don’t know Bauhaus well - Bela Lugosi’s Dead was on a mixtape I got from someone, and I enjoyed it, so I listen to them a bit. But I imagine they would be awesome live - I’m jealous.
Bela Lugosi is a great tune, but there are plenty of others. Check out the dub inspired She’s In Parties, the gloomy Passion of Lovers or the post-punk Dark Entries.
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!
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!
I love that song so much! How lucky you were to see them do it live!
Yes ! It’s so beautiful, they usually play it with the ‘power of ten’ video in the background, making it a whole new experience
MUSE - Simulation Theory
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.
I bet we were at some of the same shows if you were doing First Ave/Fine Line/Turf Club/Uptown Bar in the '90s.
I’ll take Replacements at 7th Street Entry in early 1986. Westerberg did If Only You Were Lonely solo acoustic as an encore while getting pelted with beer bottles from off stage.
Most memorable (in hindsight) would be Stevie Ray Vaughan at Alpine Valley the night before the helicopter crash.
Replacements are one of my favorite bands but somehow I’ve never managed to see them live. Still think they shoukd have played the super bowl with Fancy Ray instead of that Bruno guy.
