Concerts that surprised you

[2F/2F]

The B-52s at The Hollywood Bowl a couple years ago.

My wife's boss had the tickets for herself, but the day of, something else came up and she couldn't go. She gave them to my wife, who promptly and excitedly told me we were going that night.

I wasn't too thrilled about it. I love the B-52s, but only their first album, really, and I 'd never expect them to be good live, especially these days. And I really don't like The Bowl. But I said OK.

Well, lo and behold, after suffering through an opening set by The Psychedelic Furs (I generally can't stand '80s pop, and this particular installment of it was particularly mind-numbingly boring), I was blown away by the B-52s. They really ROCKED! Such a TIGHT and rockin' set! It was a complete blast. We had so much fun.

 

[wmhill]

Good surprise- Kim Mitchell a couple of summers ago. Not a big crowd, but man did he (and his band) put on a great show. One of the most musically accurate shows I've been to. Note for note perfection. I knew he was a great player, but he has keep his playing on point.
Bad surprise- Shinedown. I really liked their first two albums and got to see them at a multi-band line up. Just noisy playing and off-pitch singing.
A real surprise- Adam Ant. We were in Buffalo NY for a long weekend, and found out Adam Ant was playing a free concert within walking distance of us- and it started in an hour. Wasn't the best concert ever, but still fun.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I'll give you a twofer, though there's probably more. Mitch Ryder and Detroit (this was post Detroit Wheels) blew me away. They were tighter than a gnat's *****, dynamic, and soulful as can be with great guitar work and a cooking rhythm section.

The other one that comes to mind was Santana at the Atlantic City Pop Festival in 69, two weeks before Woodstock. I'd heard of Carlos with Paul Butterfield and expected a blues band. Holy Guacamole! They tore the roof off the sucker. Oh, wait, there was no roof. It was an outdoor concert.

Oddly enough, the Santana band was named Santana Blues Band
Santana Blues Band

 

[JimChjones]

Went to see the Stones in '82 thinking 'bunch of old men , they'll be past it' (oh the irony!!). Thought they were great. Mate who was huge Stones fan was really disappointed...

 

[Pickup Artist]

Weird Al Yankovic. I went in expecting a comedy goof-off, but was utterly floored by a band that's tighter and more accomplished across a huge range of styles and material than should be humanly possible. Those guys have serious skills.

If anyone hasn't seen Weird Al live yet, just go do it. It's a "musician's musicians" band, hiding in plain sight, disguised in a clown suit.

Agreed. I saw him in the mid 90’s on a lark and was impressed and had a great time.

 

[obimark]

Depeche Mode- Sounds of the Universe Tour around 2009-- ABSOLUTE best concert, best sound, best vocals. They had it all and bought it! (And this is from a die-hard guy who usually won't even listen to a band that doesn't feature a real bass on their albums)

 

[philpm]

<quote>On a more positive note, went to see Triumph in the early 80s- they were great, as expected, but their warmup band was Foghat, and they were phenomenal!</quote>

I saw that tour, one of the many concerts I managed to win tickets to in my youth. Foghat blew Triumph off the stage the night I saw them. Sounds like it wasn't the only night!

 

[BergerHead]

The Stranglers in Nyon, Switzerland back in 1988, the guys were playing for almost 4 hours ... and later released a quite shorted album of.

250563639

 

[Ekim]

OHM with Chris Poland and Pag and Kofi Baker. I'd never heard of them before and they KILLED it. At a crappy venue with almost no one there here in Indianapolis.

 

[ZonieBass]

I saw Little Richard in the early 70's. We were working pretty regular at the time and I thought we were pretty hot. Man, did I get a lesson in how to put on a show.

 

[Spectrum]

A few. Back in the late 90s I went to an outdoor amphitheater show in Philly to see Styx, and Benetar was the opener. My sister was a Pat Benetar fan, so it was her idea; I expected both bands to be kind of "over the hill" but WTH I had nothing better to do and it would be fun for a bunch of us.

Well, Benetar was having an off day I guess. Neil Giraldo thought he was in Pittsburgh, which did NOT go down well with the Philly fans, and overall the band didn't seem to be into it.

Styx on the other hand, wow. Awesome performance. Dennis DeYoung was amazing, voice of an angel. Tommy Shaw and the rest of the band were on point as well. For an 80s band that was struggling to remain relevant they were at the top of their game and I was very impressed.

Another one was around 2011 or so I saw The Fixx at a local county fair in Fairfax County, Virginia. At that fair you pay to get into the fair and the concerts are no extra charge. At first I thought, "You mean the Fixx, from the early 80s? Are they even still around?" Yes, it was the real deal, same five guys from the early days, too, and they were utter pros, sounded great, looked good, lots of energy, and I was shocked at how many songs I actually remember. This band was a hit machine back in the day and they can go on for an hour before playing one you don't know. Turns out they have been steadily recording new albums since the 80s, too.

Sadly, they got a bad time slot, 2 PM on a hot sunny day, so there wasn't much of a crowd. I was able to walk up to the front without jostling anyone. I felt they deserved a huge crowd, because they were killer.

 

[BergerHead]

Went to see the Stones in '82 thinking 'bunch of old men , they'll be past it' (oh the irony!!). Thought they were great. Mate who was huge Stones fan was really disappointed...

1982 they stepped by in Basel, Switzerland and brought their very own demons with ... Keith was so full of H, he couldn't almost stand on his feet; too bad!

 

[ahc]

Oddly enough, the Santana band was named Santana Blues Band
Santana Blues Band

True enough but the one thing I distinctly remember was that they were introduced as Santana Blues Band and the first words out of Carlos's mouth before launching into Soul Sacrifice were "We are not Santana Blues Band. We are SANTANA!". He was pretty emphatic about that.

 

[wagdog]

Gillian Welch. I wasn’t a fan of hers but a few years ago I got dragged to a show in a small theater. It was supposed to be a solo show but she showed up with Dave Rawlings too. They blew the doors off the place. Very high energy and impeccable musicianship. I was in awe. Her recordings just don’t do her justice.

 

[juancaminos]

Oddly enough, the Santana band was named Santana Blues Band
Santana Blues Band

The Santana Blues Band did free concerts at Griffith Park in the old days, as did other acts.

 

[ezstep]

Two, actually, and both were a while back.

Went to see Chicago after they had released only two or three singles, and I liked their music. I was not expecting to see Terry Kath blow the roof of the stadium. Very tight band, great sound, awesome guitarist.

Not tool long ago I found myself available to see a Peter Frampton concert, so, what the heck. We went. I was interested to see if he still had some chops. He did. He played the best version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" that I have ever heard. The show was just over two hours. Awesome.

 

[Jeff Scott]

... Keith was so full of H, he couldn't almost stand on his feet; too bad!

He was pretty much that way when I saw the New Barbarians in 1979. Fortunately, the opening band saved the show. Stevie Ray Vaughn.

 

[DJ Bebop]

True enough but the one thing I distinctly remember was that they were introduced as Santana Blues Band and the first words out of Carlos's mouth before launching into Soul Sacrifice were "We are not Santana Blues Band. We are SANTANA!". He was pretty emphatic about that.

Yeah, I know that.
It was obvious at that time they had grown passed their blues roots.
One reason they were being saddled with blues gigs was the name
Santana Blues Band
Carlos Santana | Biography, Albums, & Facts

 

[CBass079]

Beyond the Wall presented by Think : EXP at the Wisdome in LA. Amazing tribute band to Pink Floyd comprised of awesome, well-known musicians. I'm sure you can tell by the poster below the caliber of talent that was on stage that night. Really amazing visuals projected onto the inside of the dome, and you would lay down on these reclining couch-like things and watch the light show, although I sat up most of the time to watch the band .
Roberta Freeman stole the show when she sang Great Gig in the Sky flawlessly. She single-handedly turned a crowd of zombie-like stoners into an energetic mob during her performance. It was funny watching the rest of the band during that song too: Norwood and Stephen Perkins were just playing with their jaws dropped. It was quite the night, and it really turned me on to Pink Floyd.

Also, freaking Scott Page was there!!!

 

[Kmonk]

My wife and I have different tastes in music. There are some artists which we both like but she is 8 years younger and likes pop, soft rock. The heaviest stuff she will listen to is Daughtry. I'm more into blues, rock, hard rock. We've been married for 31 years and see several shows each year. We usually alternate going to an artist she likes, then one that I like. Shows that she picked which surprised me were Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw, Sarah McLachlan, Michael Buble, Rick Springfield and Celine Dion. Sarah McLachlan had best mix I've ever heard at a concert. We saw Celine Dion in Las Vegas. She had a 29 piece band which was one of the best I've ever seen and she was very entertaining.

Another one that surprised was Steel Panther. I was in L.A. on business. My business partner made arrangements us to see them at the Fonda Theater. I had never heard of them and had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. Very entertaining band and good musicians. They were also the loudest band I've ever heard. I was very glad that I wore ear protection.