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Why did I go see....?

#61
What was I thinking? show: I went with my Dad to see Liza Minelli back in the 80's. Mercifully we were far enough away to not see much detail...

On the regrets list: Right around the Head In the Door album release, I had Cure tickets and was in the parking lot of the venue in Dallas. I stupidly sold the tickets and went to some stupid club instead.

FWIW, despite not not being a huge fan, I saw Devo on the Hardcore Tour last week. I was way impressed and have become a fan of their early stuff as a result.

On the all-time regret list: I wish I had seen Queen w/Freddy Mercury somewhere, sometime.
 
#62
Best show: Joe Satriani opening for Stevie Ray Vaughan at the Pier in NYC. My two favorite guitar players playing on a beautiful summer night in NYC.
Worst show: GNR/ Soundgarden. at Nassau Coleseium. Soundgarden had the worst mix I have ever heard at any concert. The Guitar and bass were so distorted that you could not hear either one clearly and so loud that they drowned out Chris Cornell. Matt Cameron kicked ass though. He was the best part of Soundgarden that night. Soundgarden's set ends and Two hours later GNR takes the stage and were awful. Slash was sloppy,(Probably drunk off his ass) Axl sounded like poopie and the rest of the band mailed it in. The "other" drummer named Matt, that night. Matt Sorum was also excellent though.
 
#63
Octavio said:
I saw The Fabulous Thunderbirds open for Rush in 1986. Who's great idea was that pairing? With our daughter growing up in the last decade I was 'fortunate' to see Britney Spears, Destiny's Child (when there were four of them), and Christina Aguilera. You know how it is.
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I have heard of worse pairings...How about Van Halen with the Commodores as an opening act. The Commodores should have been their own headliners and the last Van Halen tour with "Diamond Dave" should never have happened!
 
#64
My friend scored a pair of Van Halen tickets after his buddy got grounded. "1984" Tour. Not really my thing, but those guys really put on a show: DLR swingin' a scimitar, "Happy Trails", the works.

I really shoulda gone to The Who farewell tour.
 
#66
I let a friend talk me into seeing Stryper in the late 80s. He had an extra ticket and couldn't find anyone to go (imagine that). I have no problem with people practicing their religion. I do have a problem if they make it a gimmick and play awful hair metal dressed up like lycra bumble bees. At least Poison were honest about their intentions.

As for regrets...I wish I would have seen Bowie or Prince back in the 80s. At the time the ticket prices seemed outrageous and by the time I had opportunities to see them I felt their best work was behind them. In retrospect I'd pay those 80s ticket prices in a heartbeat to see them on those tours (when their best work was not yet decades behind them).

Oh well...all in all I have a LOT more great concert memories than regrets.
 
#67
FourNotFive said:
I let a friend talk me into seeing Stryper in the late 80s. He had an extra ticket and couldn't find anyone to go (imagine that). I have no problem with people practicing their religion. I do have a problem if they make it a gimmick and play awful hair metal dressed up like lycra bumble bees. At least Poison were honest about their intentions.

As for regrets...I wish I would have seen Bowie or Prince back in the 80s. At the time the ticket prices seemed outrageous and by the time I had opportunities to see them I felt their best work was behind them. In retrospect I'd pay those 80s ticket prices in a heartbeat to see them on those tours (when their best work was not yet decades behind them).

Oh well...all in all I have a LOT more great concert memories than regrets.
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I saw stryper in 89 at a reasonably sized club.
the show was stupid loud but I gotta say; one of the best shows I ever saw-just a good old fashioned rock and roll show.

the best show I saw though hands down was pat travers at a small club nearby. I went in not knowing much about him but it was a religious experience-I was almost in tears he was so good.
 
#69
I was a huge Replacements fan for a long time, saw them twice and loved it.
Then I made the mistake of seeing Paul Westerberg on a solo tour. He acted like he really, really didn't care to be there. Terrible show.
 
#70
I get to miss great shows all the time here in NY because there so many but then there is lots of overwork/overtime otherwise I cant pay NY rents....last one I missed was Kvelertak in the St Vitus Bar and Mastodon/Gojira/Kvelertak. Jazz legends i shouldnt have missed include Cecil Taylor, and Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman on 1 stage a few weeks ago in Prospect park. That will never happen again....

The show i am now so happy i did see was Miles Davis at the North Sea Jazz festival in 1983 or so. Never seen somebody accomplish so much with so little playing, all charisma and power of personality. Another one to remember fondly was a James Brown/George Clinton/Bootsy Collins festival evening. Really glad I saw them all, even if James Brown was terrible, Clinton so-so, and Bootsy fantastic. And there was a Prince show in the 90ties in a 1500-capacity room in the Netherlands that was amazing. A show in NY that blew me away in every sense of the word was the Han Bennink/Peter Brotzmann duo (with 2 younger musicians who couldnt get in a note edgewise) Those 2 septuagenarians attained a level of intensity, density and sheer sonic agression I have yet to see a metalband surpass on stage. And all that out of a saxophone and a drum kit, acoustically (as in: no amplification). It was a sight and sound to behold.
 
#71
Duke Ellington in the gymnasium of Western Illinois University in early 70's. WIU used the gym PA speakers and the one over us was shorting out and they left the gym floor lights on. Ellington was the consumate professional, the band played on.

Saw Count Basie in Spirit Lake Iowa in late 60's and that was incredible. Big dance hall and about a zillion humid degrees. Nobody cared including the band. It was hot on so many levels.

Sure wish I had seen Pink Floyd.
 
#72
Mine was a Dead concert (comped, no less). Jerry Garcia got popped by police at the airport so the Dead never showed, and the opener, Euclid, was just awful. They were barely louder than the crowd yelling at them to get off stage. Needless to say, things were pretty ugly at that show.

The clip sounds FAR better than they did live. Beach Boys' voices they weren't.

Right behind that was NIN on the tour with David Bowie in the mid 90s. A few of us (literally) had just built Bowie's first web site, and released the first single available only on the 'net for him, so we were all-access, VIP, meet 'n' greet comped. The NIN FOH mix was unintelligible, just a wall of loud mush, in contrast to the excellent mix Bowie had. Same show, same FOH setup. That was probably a crew thing; NIN sounded great recently on Austin City Limits.

I never did see the original Allman Bros. I've caught most of the relatives, spinoffs, and descendents' bands, though. I'd like to see Tedeschi Trucks again with Tim Lefebvre.

Best shows were Miles Davis on the pier in NYC (the We Want Miles album's show) and one of Zappa's Halloween concerts at the Palladium downtown with Scott Thunes and Chad Wackerman as the rhythm section.
 
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#75
xUptheIronsx said:
Ok, inspired by the first influences and concerts thread...

what is one show/group/performance that you attended that now you can't beleive you did? Or, what is one tha tyou wish you would have attended, but didn't?

My "shame show" was Milli Vanilli on the famous Lip Synch tour. My GF at the time loved them and got tix for us without telling me. The combination of me being young and the threat of no more boobies pushed me into going....ah, the stupidity of youth

My 'should have gone' show was The Police Synchronicity Tour. I turned down 3rd row seats from my friends dad because "they are not metal"....ah, the stupidity of youth
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why did i go see haunted garage some things can't be unseen
 
#77
A few years back I took my daughter and a friend to see the Jonas Brothers with Avril Lavigne and Demi Lovato opening. It really wasn't so bad given what it was, but obviously not my cup of tea.

Special moments I've been fortunate enough to catch: Red Hot Chili Peppers (Mother's Milk tour, club show! - 1989), Miles Davis (1990 - one year before he passed), King's X (a few times, but 1992 stands out)... Am I showing my age?
 
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#79
No regrets for any show I've attended. I did take my preteen daughter to see the Spice Girls. It was like Beatlemania. Screaming was deafening and never stopped the entire show, but she was in ecstasy. A great memory for both of us. :)
 
#80
Regretted going to: 30 Seconds to Mars. One decent album was not worth the two hours of pretentious douchebaggery on stage and obnoxious audience "participation" I had to endure. If it wasn't for the missus being there, I would have left after the first song.

Regretted missing out: Isis when they played in Sydney back in 2008-ish. They promptly split-up after that tour. The words "I'll just see them next time" still haunt me to this day.

What's worse is that my friend at the time had a spare ticket and literally offered it to me for nothing but I turned it down because I couldn't be bothered driving into the city. shag my everything forever.
 

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