DCC Archive What was your favorite concert?

I'm wondering what concerts board members attended that are most memorable to them.

One of mine was in 1976. John McLaughlin had just recently formed an Indian music group named Shakti. I saw them in a beautiful old chapel. There were probably only about 300-500 people there. Excellent size!

McLaughlin, L. Shankar, and a couple backup musicians playing drone instruments sat cross-legged on a Persian rug, with incense burning from some pots. They were all dressed in white, and barefoot I believe. I know that speed in and of itself is pointless, but McLaughlin was playing beautiful stuff and so fast it'd make your jaw drop. And not just a few seconds here and there--he played fast a lot! He'd break it up with very slow very melodic pieces, though. I think the concert was about two hours.

McLaughlin played his custom-built acoustic Gibson, which had an extra set of six strings running diagonally over the sound hole. Much of the time he played with his eyes closed, his face pointing up to heaven. It was that kind of music. L. Shankar sometimes played a double violin, and boy, did he and McLaughlin inspire each other that night.

The church had an unusual balcony that wrapped around the sides, so during part of the concert I went to the front-most part of it and was almost looking down on the group.

I can't really describe the music except that it blew away their live LP recorded in 1975. And the songs they did that would appear on their second LP, A Handful of Beauty, they too were vastly better at this concert. This was before I started taping concerts that I went to, so I've always regretted not having this one to hear again.

 

A tough question, because I don't think you can fairly compare bands you see in an arena with bands you see in a small venue or bar.

Here's my take:

Best show in an arena-type setting -- Page & Plant, 3/20/95 @ Rupp Arena. Metallica was also excellent ('93), playing 3.5 hours with no opening act.

Worst show in an arena-type setting -- Van Halen, 4/19/95 @ Rupp Arena. Ugh. Also, KISS was good...for a laugh, and the acoustics were awful.

Best show in a small venue -- impossible to say, but the most memorable are Eric Johnson '97 @ Bogart's, Steve Morse Band '99 @ Gilly's, and King's X '96 @ Toy Tiger. I'll add the Dregs @ Bogart's '00, although they were just opening for Dream Theater and only played about 45 minutes (BOO!). And the first time I saw Michael Hedges (RIP) in '94.

Worst show in a small venue -- Jerry Reed. An absolute joke. This guy has long since sold his soul, and was more interested in promoting that classic cinematic masterpiece "The Waterboy" than playing anything resembling the glory that is "The Claw."

 

Steve, have you been to a concert since '85?

The Dregs are coming your way 1/19/02 (my birthday, no less) at the LA HOB. I will encourage you again -- GO!!!!

 

Self (anyone know them? Sadly, best known for having the lead track on the Shrek soundtrack. Great band) Sept 1999 in Baltimore.

 

Well...

Everytime SRV came to town.

11 years later I still miss him as much as I did on 8/27/90...

Somethings you never get over when they touch you so deeply.

Best Wishes, ED

 

re: "Everytime SRV came to town."
Now that would be one to die for... I envy you Ed!

 

Speaking of loud: The loudest concert I ever suffered through was Neil Young with the Blue Notes. Every song was at near-pain level, and every song sounded about the same. Imagine that album he did, with about four times as many songs, all repetitious to no end. Yeccch! And OOOOOUUUUUCH! And I like Neil normally. But who wants to be in pain at a concert? I had to pull my coat up over my ears to protect them.

 

Bruce - Nashville '99. He and the band were absolutely on fire despite a "standard" setlist. I also saw the two Atlanta 2000 shows (including the premier of "American Skin (41 Shots)" and "Further On Up The Road"), but Nashville was the one that most stood out overall.

 

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Seattle, December 1978. His second visit to Seattle on the Darkness tour and just a few days after my taping (and repeated listening) of the Winterland radio broadcast in preparation. They did not disappoint!

A close second (and something completely different):
John Prine and Steve Goodman in Seattle in 1974. Both had about two albums out. They each played solo acoustic sets and then played a long encore together. They looked like they were having the time of their lives and the audience loved it.

Loudest by far (and this from someone who saw Blue Cheer live in '68) was Rockpile when they opened for Van Morrison in probably '80 or '81. They were the ones that prompted me to carry noise protection from then on.

-Craig

[ December 30, 2001: Message edited by: Craig ]

 

Steve, might I recommend:



I actually used some "Hearos" at a Megadeth show.

 

Patrick, I don't suppose you needed these for the Leo Kotke show ?

-ED

 

I just realized I could have made a wicked pun: "The world needs a 'hearo,'" but I missed my opportunity.

Ed, no need for ear protection at the Hedges (2x), Kottke (3x), or Bensusan (2x) shows. Pierre actually just mikes his acoustic guitar and plays through the house PA. Pretty cool.

Now, Metallica, KISS, Static X, Megadeth, Prong, Jerry Cantrell, King's X, etc is another story. I saw KX in '98 at 328 Performance Hall in Nashville. AWFUL acoustics. They just gutted a church and left a nice reverberant concrete floor and that place rrrrrings. I wound up running to the bathroom and jamming toilet tissue in my ears (this is also a good look, BTW).

I generally try to protect my hearing, but sometimes I compromise and wear plugs during the opening act(s) only. Things sound too funky with them in, although I did wear them all through the last Derek Trucks/Alien Love Child gig.

Maybe we should have a best/worst sounding venues thread. I vote for the Orlando HOB as among the best I have attended.

[ December 30, 2001: Message edited by: Patrick M ]

 

Yeah Patrick, kind of hard to BLAST the audience with an acoustic guitar HeeeHeee...

-ED

 

Hello from the road,

The Guinness Fleadh concert a few years back was great; had the opposite problem one usually gets at most concerts, though. Lucinda Williams was real tough to hear. Elvis Costello was cool, too, but the best part was Van Morrison. My god, when that guy is on, he's really on.

When Neil Young was in Chicago a few years back, he was absolutely amazing. There was a pretty bad storm coming through, but those guys wouldn't quit. Guess what they played? "Like A Hurricane"!

Dylan was at my old school in October last year, and it was the first time I ever saw him in concert. Didn't always hit the right notes on his guitar, but otherwise, it was amazing to be there.

I'm also a big fan of Bonnie Raitt; always great to see in concert. I know she's old enough to be my mother, but she's got a pretty FINE voice.

[ December 30, 2001: Message edited by: Camarillo ]

 

Best gig
1991 - The Neville Brothers at the State Theatre in Sydney.Aaron Neville had done his back in and didn't sing except when they wheeled him out in his wheelchair to sing Tell It Like It Is,but it was basically Art leading from his keyboards and sang lead the entire gig and it was basically a Meters gig with extra musicians,The whole place was up and dancing.

1985 - Queen at the Sydney Entertaiment Centre on "The Works" tour,what a superb band.

Most disappointing - The Stones at the Sydney Showgrounds,April Fool's Day 1995 (I shoulda known)Nothing but a cabaret act,they kicked off great with Not Fade Away,Tumbling Dice and then it was just moments and those don't a gig make.Keith sang "The Worst",that part was superb,he should do more stuff like that.

The loudest - The Bombers in'88,these guys were a quartet,the rhythm section was Status Quo's old engine room of John Coughlan and Alan Lancaster,they opened for another band and to this day I've never heard a band play that loud outdoors,when they played all the old Quo stuff,the volume was just ridiculous.

The gig I most regret missing was Roy Buchanan playing a club around the corner from where I lived in Mar/Apr(?)'88,I thought to myself I'll catch him next time,then read the music papers 4 mths later that he had died,I cringe as I type this.

 

Donovan at "The Trip" in Hollywood (guess what song he debuted?). The Byrds/Woodland Hills?/now a JW church?. Count Five at VFW on Highland in Hollywood. A number of love-ins and light shows. Who was playing? Who cared? Ray Charles at Shrine Auditorium 1966? Judy Collins singing "Get Together" after anti-war march in Frisco. Butterfield Blues Band at the Troubadour New Years Eve 1967? Mick Jagger at Altamont. Ray Charles at Dorthy Chandler. Everly Brothers at the Greek 1985.
Chicago Sixhttp://www.chicagosix.com/at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee http://www.sacjazz.com/ 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. My favorite(s) Ray Charles, Donovan and Chicago Six.
Almost forgot David Clayton-Thomas/Blood Sweat and Tears 1999? at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Great show, the man still has a great voice and a tight band.

[ December 30, 2001: Message edited by: Larry Naramore ]

[ December 30, 2001: Message edited by: Larry Naramore ]

 

...honorable mentions from my "Memory Banks" would include...

Seeing Black Sabbath (with OzzY) during their 10th Anniversary tour. Tony Iommi is an awesome guitarist! No fast moves or flash...but awesome! And as the opening band...TA-DA!...Van Halen...David Lee Roth had a large fan blowing his hair around and a "cheesy" VH banner as a backdrop...Talk about a "low-buck" stage show! Overall, I would say (as did others) that VH blew Sabbath away...and I'm a big Black Sabbath fan!

The Animals reunion (all original members) on the ARK tour was memorable (Chas Chandler-RIP).

ZZ Top on the El Loco tour was a GREAT stage show...as they are always known for! They were into this "industrial" scenario at the time that seemed to appear out-of-nowhere when the flashpots went off...neat stuff!

A weird concert was Black Sabbath, a few years later, with Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) on vocals and Bev Bevan (ELO) on drums (WHA?). Interesting to see Tony Iommi doing an encore of Smoke On The Water...and the crowd goes wild!!!

In recent years I've seen "what's left of" Steppenwolf (John Kay still ROCKS!), The Rascals (well 2 of 'em anyway!) and Mark Lindsay's Raiders (don't laugh!), among others.

Maybe someday I'll see an artist that had a hit "this century"!........Naaaaaaah!

Rock On!

 

Outdoor: At Steiner Ranch near Austin with Firefall, The Band, England Dan & John Fort Coley, Fleetwood Mac and a couple of others.

Indoor: Rush on their Signals tour

Stadium: Ronnie Montrose w/Gamma Band (boring) Heart, and Blue Oyster Cult.

Foreign: In Nurnberg, Blue Oyster Cult on their Agents of Fortune Tour. Absolutely Insane!

 

Oh yeah, my first ever concert: The Young Rascals.

 

Best concert memory: Nirvana in a small school gymnasium in Iowa a few months before Kurt checked out. Was amazed how good they were live.
Most fun at a gig: NRBQ at the Cubby Bear in Chicago. Stood (jumped up and down) in the front row for almost three hours. Sore calves for days after.
Most disappointing concert: Elvis Costello in St. Louis during his overproduced, sappy, "Pop-Star years" of the mid 80's.