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

Haha. Age is only a number! I actually think the '78 show was the best but it was so long ago, I don't remember the experience as well. There are certain things Bruce does better now like running the show and quarterbacking the band better. Plus, of course, he has a bigger songbook. I do have the South Bend boot and it is amazing.

 

Best: There was a great Wilco show in Duluth in '07 the drizzle and the fog with ore boats going by in the canal behind the stage. Magical night ... But I went to the REM-Springsteen Vote for Change show in St. Paul that was simply awesome. Fogarty was also there, and Neil Young shocked everybody when he came out and played "Country Feedback" with REM. Great crossover stuff, with Stipe singing "Because the Night" with the E Street Band and Bruce singing "Man on the Moon" with REM.

Worst: A seemingly drunk Jerry Lee Lewis at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair in Chippewa Falls, Wis., in the late 80s.

Last: Wilco at the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines with John Doe opening. Pretty awesome (yeah, I'm a Wilco nerd). That was two years ago; I need to get to a show!

Next: Nothing on the horizon. Was hoping to see Avett Bros. in No. Wisconsin or Minneapolis this weekend but my kid had a baseball tournament. Soul Asylum's coming to Mankato for Rib Fest next month and I'll probably hit that. Saw them two summers ago, and they still rocked it like it was 1992. Lots of fun.

 

Worst: Boy, this is hard. Motley Crue's 1997 "reunion" tour stop at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena was pretty bad. Couldn't sell tickets so it was a half house. Tickets on the floor were actually cheaper than the seats. They played porn on a huge screen before the show and humiliated some female FM disc jockey who was doing the introductions. Tommy Lee (or maybe it was Nikki Sixx?) was arrested for something stupid and he played "Brandon" which is the worst song ever recorded. Vince Neil was out of breath all night. The only saving grace was Cheap Trick who opened. They were sublime.

Days of the New at some bar in the early 2000s. Lead singer walked off the stage after after a handful of songs. Just a miserable asshole.

Metallica 1998 Reload tour. The show had no flow to it. Just awful. It included what seemed to be a never-ending acoustic set which convinced a lot of people to head for the exits before the show was over. The sad thing is they recorded this show (this was well before bands did this on a regular basis) and now sell it on the Web site.

 

Best: Zero Boys in 2009 in Indianapolis. Packed floor, band sounded incredible as always, and best was watching my then 11-year-old son, a normally staid kid, scream and leap off a table to rush the stage. Also, I had met a few band members over the years, so I was able to introduce my son to them afterward. Plus, he could take all the pictures he wanted. Paul Mahern, the lead singer, told him concerts would be all downhill from there, and he's probably right.

Worst: David Bowie, 1990 "Sound and Vision" best-of tour, Noblesville, Ind. The worst kind of best-of tour -- a performer going through the motions because he can.

Last: It was supposed to be Rush last week at Northerly Island in Chicago, but rain washed it out. A guy has already sued, based on the ticket saying "rain or shine."

 

If it's the Cuyahoga Falls or Mansfield show, it is available at livemetallica.com as a free download. Most of those "vault" recordings are bootlegs submitted by fans.

Thought the 1998 Re-Load tour had some very good moments, and the acoustic set was a neat nod to something bands like Zeppelin used to do. But it was a disjointed show overall, and scuttlebutt has it the band was going through the motions for much of that tour.

Saw that and thought of you and your son. Sorry about that, Bob.

 

LiveNation is tanking.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100715/ap_en_mu/us_live_nation_outlook;_ylt=AqDIq7OfFZiwQmGDi0n6jTqs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFrZzdvMzVyBHBvcwMxNjUEc2VjA2FjY29yZGlvbl9lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50BHNsawNsaXZlbmF0aW9uc2g-

 

Just got Tommy Emmanuel tix yesterday.

 

This take is so on the money it is ridiculous. GREAT FOR CONCERT GOER -- fall of tangible music means more bands are touring than ever before. BAD FOR CONCERT GOER -- Ticket market has not adjusted to economic reality. There are still great values to be found, especially in the indie market. Saw Wolf Parade in NYC for $30 OTD. More than worth it.

The classic rock gravy train is over. Those who survive will be worth it.

 

Best concert: Probably Pearl Jam playing a show in my hometown chocked full of rare b-sides right after I graduated from college. 2) Wilco Kalamazoo 02/05 3) Arcade Fire 09/05 Chicago.

Worst: Aerosmith 98 tour. Absolutely awful.

Latest: Wolf Parade in NYC. Also nominated for best show.

 

EXACTLY. Which is what sucks most about the arrangement. Charge ridiculously high tickets at first and if nobody bites? Pull the show. Instead of offering reasonably priced seats and hoping for better crowds.

F our Supreme Court for allowing the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger. They should have listened to Ed Vedder.

 

It's funny - when rock and roll first started, the road shows were promos. Labels would throw five or so acts on a bus hoping to generate record sales. Now, the show (and the merch sales) is the thing. I don't need a light show, a dance troupe, costume changes or video boards - just a decent act who can play for a couple of hours and a venue small enough where I don't need binoculars to see. Another thing that bugs me is tickets being sold months in advance.

 

Going to see Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King later this summer.

Magic, if you went to the Dave Mason show I'd be interested in what you thought.