Best/Worst gigs.

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:22 pm

What's the best and worst gigs you've been to?

LessThanZero · Post by **LessThanZero** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:30 pm

Pizza guy will be here in 7 to 8 minutes..........

7 to 8 minutes......

Best Gig: Elvis at the University of Chicago in 2002! EPIC SHOW!!! WOW! Or was that earlier this year?? Either way, EPIC SHOW! Wow, again.

Worst Gig: Fastball, Sugar Ray and The Goo Goo Dolls! Decidedly and unexplainably hell. I was wishing I was the guy that got dropped while crowd surfing...the lucky bastard landed head-first on a concrete floor! I rode with my friend and his then girlfriend (he liked the goo goo dolls).

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:41 pm

Best Gigs:

In no particular order:

1. Bob Dylan/Joni Mitchell, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, October 1998.
2. Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band, Air Canada Centre, Toronto, May 2000.
3. Wilco, Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, October 2001.
4. Paul McCartney, Air Canada Centre, Toronto, April 2002.
5. Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, June 2002.

Worst Gig:

Elevator at El Mocambo a few years back. My friend told me I'd love them, that they're one of the best Canadian bands around. It ended up being horrible. A neo-grunge psychedelia experiment gone very, very bad.

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:43 pm

Best: REM with Radiohead opening, Dallas 1995.

Worst: Nine Inch Nails opening for Bowie. Bowie was great. Nine Inch Nails was adequate, but their fans were so obnoxious that I was thrilled when their set was over.

LessThanZero · Post by **LessThanZero** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:44 pm

Wow noise, that would be AMAZING.

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:50 pm

Yeah.. there should be a whole other thread for concerts that should have been great but went bad. I had pretty bad experiences seeing U2, The Jayhawks, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Who, and Belle & Sebastian for non-musical reasons. All acts put on great performances. In the case of certain ones I can easily remember the show fondly for its performance, but for other concerts the experience was simply ruined.

LessThanZero · Post by **LessThanZero** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:54 pm

Everclear was bad because the lead singer was a big baby.

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 8:58 pm

I was actually really looking forward to seeing NIN, too, so it was really too bad. But as soon as the opening notes of "Terrible Lies" came through the PA, the air was full of trash and elbows. I had great seats down front, and I couldn't see until I stood on my chair. The funniest part was when a security guard came and asked me to sit down. I said, "Tell you what. I'll sit if you will remove the three people who are standing in front of my seat." Moron. It did finally calm down, but not for about 5 or 6 songs. Before that, you couldn't even hear the music. The best part of the show was when Bowie came on stage. Both bands played Reptile, then Scary Monsters and Hallo Spaceboy. NIN left after that--and so did their crowd. From then on, it was all Bowie and really great.

Maybe that wasn't the worst gig I ever went to, come to think of it. But it was by far the worst opening act.

I think now maybe the worst gig was when I agreed to go see Yes on the Union tour. It would have been ok, except they kept playing these 20 minute songs like Tales from Topographic Oceans, with boring harp solos.

LessThanZero · Post by **LessThanZero** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:00 pm

Noise, when will Oliver's Army tour up through Michigan? I would pay top-dollar for that!

whtesde · Post by **whtesde** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:16 pm

Best: Costello at the Orpheum in Boston, October 2002.

Worst: Jesus Lizard at Lollapalooza, circa 1995. The singer occasionally paused the band's shitty faux-heavy music to insult the crowd. Boooring.

Guided By Voices once played a gig at my college where the lead singer, who, after drinking himself silly onstage, got into a fistfight with the opening act in the hallway of the Student Union. I was not there to witness this, and that is why I cry myself to sleep each night.

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:35 pm

BEST:
1) The Clash, London Lyceum, Oct 1981
2) The Selecter, Whisky A Go Go, Hollywood, May 1980
3) Elvis Costello & The Attractions w/Squeeze, Cal Poly SLO Gym, Jan '81
4) REM, Universal Amphitheatre, No. Hollywood, 1987
5) The Ramones, Dooley's, Tempe, AZ 1979
6) Elvis Costello & the Imposters, UCLA Ackerman Ballroom, June 2002
6) (tie) Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Kodak Theater, June 2002

Elvis Costello (solo), Universal Amphitheatre, 1984
9) The Jam, ???Sports Centre (gymnasium), London, December 1981
10) Bob Dylan, Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles, October 2002

WORST:
1) The Romantics, Hollywood Palladium, 1984
2) Less Than Jake, The Palace, Hollywood, 2002 (I took my son.....)
3) Coheed and Cambria, The Grove, Anaheim last Sunday (godawful)
4) Big Country, Hollywood Palladium, 1984 (boring, walked out)

RedShoes · Post by **RedShoes** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 9:52 pm

I've not been to very many concerts, unfortunately...but here goes:

Best: Elvis Costello, Taste of Chicago, July 2003
The only time I've seen Elvis live, and I even got to go with my favorite person

Worst: Def Leppard, OH State Fair, 1999
Ugh. My best friend in HS made me go to this with her. So awful. But hey, that's what friends are for, right?

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 10:41 pm

Best:

Elvis and Steve at the Folies Bergere, Paris, 1987. Great, once-in-a-lifetime venue. Elvis and Steve in rare form. I was in the fifth row.

Tied for second:

EC and the Imposters recent two-set gig at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island. Hot, sweaty fun. Right next to the stage for both sets. The 10 o'clock set pure magic, full of surprises. As close as I'm ever gonna get to seeing EC & the As in 1978.

Tom Waits at the Orpheum in Boston, 1988. A great showman. Very theatrical. Great band too.

Worst:

Fear, Los Angeles, 1983? Concert in a tent somewhere in Southern California. Lee Ving, Fear's lead singer, was a complete twat. My brother and I, driving home in the fog in his '65 Dodge Dart, almost got killed.

Copenhagen Fan · Post by **Copenhagen Fan** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 4:09 am

Best......Sting opened for the Greatful Dead in the desert near Las Vegas...Sting played a bunch of Beatles covers and the Dead rocked in the eye of a huge sand storm as Bob Weir sang Looks Like Rain and the heavens began to pour from the majestic purple sky.

Worst: Eric Clapton in Copenhagen ....I bailed after 5 songs....he's such a bore and even though everyone says he's a great guitar player, his playing is so predictable and worn out, that one cannot stand the bland sound of his Stratocaster, a junky non-funky clean distorted sound. The same licks again and again.....the opener was Jimmy Vaugn......he's DAMN good......

so lacklustre · Post by **so lacklustre** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 4:21 am

Best: The Pogues (reunion) - Brixton Academy Dec 2001 (although I saw the Pogues several times in the late eighties and early nineties, this reunion stands out. Shane was on good form the atmosphere was brilliant and a good time was had by all. Xmas gigs usually have the best atmosphere IMO).

Worst: The Pogues - can't remember what year but with Spider taking over lead vocals they just weren't the same.

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:57 am

It's interesting that only half of us have put down Costello as the best...everyone seems to have seen some crackers though, Blue Bob & Joni...that's gotta be an epic thing, you'll probably never see 2 massive stars like that together again.

I've only been to one gig where it was in a field, this summer I saw the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Foo Fighters, PJ Harvey, The Electric 6, The Queens of the Stone Age and The Distillers in a festival on Glasgow Green..it was pretty damn good, except I'd never experienced twats throwing beer into the air before...luckily none hit me, otherwise I'd have 'gone Hulk'.

Copenhagen Fan · Post by **Copenhagen Fan** » Wed Nov 05, 2003 9:49 am

Laughing Crow...I'd like to see you go hulk buddy! how cool..! Mindless rage and destruction.....

costellopunk · Post by **costellopunk** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 1:07 pm

best shows:

ec last year with the imposters at the backyard (despite my wife's leaving me the next day)

bad religion 2001 at stubbs bar-b-que in austin

social distorion at the same place last year

joe ely at the executive surf club here in corpus right after letters to laredo came out.

the ataris dec 10 1999 three days after ben was born and i passed out cigars to everybody and the band dedicated a song to ben.

rancid and the beastie boys in san antonio.

warped tour 98 in houston-even though the acoustics sucked it was such a great line up of bands. nofx threw five thousand dollars in ones out at the audience as a apology for the shitty acoustics.

worst-
afi at the white rabbit in san antonio 2000. the first time i saw them they were pretty good but they really sucked at this show and now that they are famous i imagine that davey havok is even more full of himself.

lagwagon and the vandals at the backyard in austin. none of the bands seemed to be into it. pissed me off until the vandals played urban cowboy at our request.

the misfits at center thater here in corpus. post danzig misfits is absolutely pointless. if i didn't get in free i wouldn't have gone. i still don't think i should've gone. i was embarresed for them.

Tim(e) · Post by **Tim(e)** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 5:56 pm

Best

The Clash - Capitol Theatre, Sydney; Magnificent Seven Tour
Rolling Stones - Kooyong Tennis Stadium, Melbourne; Exile on Main Street Tour
Led Zeppelin - Kooyong Tennis Stadium, Melbourne; 1972
Elvis Costello - Sydney Entertainment Centre; King of America Tour
101ers - Nashville Rooms, London 1975
Knebworth 1974 and 1975 (first two Knebworth concerts staged with artists including Van Morrison, Allman Brothers, Captain Beefheart, Tim Buckley, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Pink Floyd, Steve Miller Band, Roy Harper and Trigger, etc etc)
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Lyceum, London 1974 (I think it was); concert that became his first live album.
Viv Stanshall and Friends - Red Lion Hotel, Fulham; every Thurdsday over a period of maybe 6 weeks sometime in 1975 - pure drunken mayhem.

Worst

Hawkwind - The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London; to this day I have no idea what possessed me to go to that show.
The Style Council - Hordern Pavillion, Sydney; redefined the word "bland".
Humble Pie - Bilsen Jazz and Rock Festival, Belgium 1974

Boy With A Problem · Post by **Boy With A Problem** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:57 pm

Best and Worst in the same night -

One night in the summer of 1981

Saw the Slits at the Paradise in Boston. They were incredibly fucked up and out of tune and they really couldn't play anyway - just a train wreck.
At the time we thought they might have been tripping - could've been.
The show was over early enough that we went over to the Channel and caught all of the Toots & the Maytals set - which was blistering reggae/funk - great vibe.

so lacklustre · Post by **so lacklustre** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 5:34 am

Tim(e) - You're just trying to make everyone jealous aren't you.

Tim(e) · Post by **Tim(e)** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 4:46 pm

so lacklustre wrote:Tim(e) - You're just trying to make everyone jealous aren't you.

Isn't that the point of these kinds of threads... I was just being obliging

Oh, and just be thankful I didn't also mention:

Led Zeppelin at Earls Court Pavillion 1975
Traffic and Lou Reed at the Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park (at different times) in 1974 - 1975
Brinsley Schwarz, Kilburn and the High Roads (Ian Drurey), Dr Feelgood, Ducks Deluxe, Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers (Snakefinger) etc at various times 1974-1975 at the Hope and Anchor Hotel in London's Angel Islington.

The mid 70's was a great time to be living in London!!

Post by **BlueChair** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 4:50 pm

Tim(e),

have you considered putting out a book of your concert experiences?

Tim(e) · Post by **Tim(e)** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 5:30 pm

BlueChair wrote:Tim(e),

have you considered putting out a book of your concert experiences?

I had actually considered writing a "diary" of my London experience, but unfortunately what wasn't erased as it happened has been buried under the rubble of what was once a reasonably well functioning brain