Concerts thread: Best/Worst/Next/Last one you attended?

I wasn’t there, but this is a report on a secret/private Neil Young & Crazy Horse concert in Toronto.

I have to say that seeing the Arkells take the stage after Neil playing all of Ragged Glory would be a massive letdown.

No idea how much something like this costs. I assume it has to be somewhat convenient for Neil, mostly in terms of the band doing some practicing or recording together.

 

My last concert -- and that status may be permanent, thanks to prices these days -- was a couple weeks ago when I took my son to Detroit to see KISS. It was his first show. Long, long ago, it was my first show. KISS is still doing now what it did then: creating a sense of awe in 9-year-olds (I was 11 when I saw them initially). I thought they were mostly awful but the kid loved every minute. Which made it money well spent. Also, hearing Detroit Rock City while actually in Detroit was kind of next level.

 

I'm a big Arkells fan (one of my fave concert memories was seeing them in a small club full of crazed Canadians in Dublin in the summer of 2019) but Neil would be a really tough act to follow in this scenario.

 

Roger McGuinn, the founder and face of the Byrds, one of this country's greatest 20th-century bands, will play at the new fine arts building at Microville Tech on April 23. Count me in, the Byrds were/are one of my favorite grounds and the sound of McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker guitar is unmistakable.

I last saw him in 1977, at Denison University, with David Bromberg as the backup. Great concert. Can't wait to hear "Chestnut Mare."

 

I saw him play about eight years ago as a solo. He made a memorable entrance on stage, singing and playing "So You Want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star." I thought at the time that he was in incredible shape for a man of 73.

I remember him talking about his early career and how hearing George Harrison play convinced him to electrify his folk repertoire. A little rock trivia: What do McGuinn and Grace Slick have in common geographically?

McGuinn did a great cover of Joni Mitchell's "Dreamland" (from his "Cardiff Rose" album) as part of the show.

 

I saw Bromberg around then. Great musician, fun show. He still plays and he runs a store that sells high end violins as well.

 

Regarding McGuinn and Slick, I think they're both from the Chicago area.

 

They just can't do it any more and haven't been able to for years. It's a function of age more than anything. During the 90s reunion era, if you got good/awful KISS mostly depended on Ace having his shit together. He unleashed some solos that were too outlandish for Spinal Tap on the bad nights.

Gene, Paul, Eric, and Tommy are highly professional and, say what you want about Gene's open cynicism about grabbing for every last dollar by every available avenue, he does his part to ensure people get a good show. He never was the most energetic performer, though, and the makeup, effects, and platform-booted stage presence still do most of the heavy lifting. Paul's voice is just completely shot and he's additionally taxed by doing most of the crowd work and outward displays of energy.

If you remind yourself that what your 9-year-old saw is still rooted in what some teenager saw in 1977, it reinforces how pioneering and influential they were. They pushed everyone to be better.

Tommy Lee drumming over the crowd
Iron Maiden fighting with a 10' tall animatronic mummy
Tool's laser and animation acid trip
GWAR's costumes, backstories, and alien jizz
Gorgoroth's Black Mass show with band members in corpse paint, "crucified" nude women, sheep's heads on pikes and over 20 gallons of sheep's blood (having come from the decapitated sheep, one hopes)

...all started with KISS*


*Someone on page 384 of a Beatles thread on the Steve Hoffman forums just started typing, "Actually..."

 

Correct!

 

While I've grown accustomed to big tours putting tickets on sale a half-year in advance, it seems like LiveNation is doing this with every tour now. Makes sense, get the cash up front to finance the tour and minimize risk - just hard to imagine buying tickets for a Hootie, Collective Soul and Edwin McCain show 8 months out. They are practically at the casino/state fair point in their careers.

 

Alice Cooper would like a word.

 

I saw the digital billboard for Hootie last night but couldn’t see the date.

Woof. I can catch them in town on a Friday night at the end of July at an outdoor amphitheater while broiling in the grassy area. Or I can drive to Nashville the next day and watch from the comfort of an air conditioned seat. Easiest call ever.