I have been to a number of shows including:
- Just about every punk band you can imagine - NOFX, Bad Religion, Lagwagon, Strung Out, Unwritten Law, MxPx, AFI, Social Distortion, No Use For A Name, Rufio, Yellowcard, Angels and Airwaves, etc. Most of those multiple times, and a couple of them more than a dozen times.
- Jack Johnson - I thought he was kind of boring actually. His stuff sounded exactly like his studio recordings, which I thought was more boring than cool. I kind of feel like all his stuff sounds exactly the same. Thanks to Brushfire Fairytales, I have every album of his I'll ever need.
- Mason Jennings - so chill, but way entertaining. Zach Gill opened for him and he was awesome.
- Norah Jones - sweetest person ever. Like I want to marry her kind of sweet.
- Incubus - just a cool feel to their show. Played most everything I wanted to hear, which actually covers a lot of their albums.
- Muse - maybe the best show I've ever seen.
- Kelly Clarkson - see last week.
- Martina McBride at a country music festival last summer. So fun because of how unique the atmosphere is. There could not be a group of people more pro-America than country music lovers.
- Huey Lewis - only me and a bunch of old people knew all the words.
- MC Hammer, En Vogue, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Naughty By Nature - yay Run Hit Remix! I guess I have been to a rap show before.
- And many more! What's crazy is that all these really come in only the last few years.
1. What concert would you want to go to more than anything? and
2. How much would you spend on that concert before you even questioned the purchase?
His list goes like this: Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin, Paul Mccartney, and U2. In that order. Mine would begin in the same place, but end up a little bit different. There are a couple of different lists about best live bands. This one is from Spin, and this one from AskMen, and they both seem pretty fair. The first is a little more rock oriented and modern. The other seems to be a kind of all time list.
I'd have to agree with AskMen for #1 - nobody could beat Freddie Mercury and Queen live. The guy has the best voice ever and understands theatrics. Watch any of their live performances. They would have been awesome. However, given that Freddie has long since passed away, I can't even consider them. Initially, I wanted to argue against U2, but after thinking about what it would be like to hear Where The Streets Have No Name live, that would be pretty mind-blowing. Until I saw these lists, I didn't even consider Kiss, but come to think of it, that would be really fun too. Kent, you'll be happy to know that the Spin top 25 had Arcade Fire at #3. I'm not a huge fan, but that kind of praise makes me want to see what I'm missing.
If you don't really know me, then some of this might surprise you, but my list would go something like this:
- Michael Jackson
- Justin Timberlake
- Prince
- U2
- Muse (yes, again...and again...)
- Bon Jovi
- Jay Z
- Radiohead
Prince. Let me tell you a little bit about Prince. The guy is one of the world's most amazing guitar players. He's the first guy to ever do the whole, "Produced, Arranged, Written, and Performed by Prince." I read somewhere that on one of his albums that there were more than 25 instruments and he played every single one of them. He mixes all of his own music and writes everything himself. I also heard that the guy just loves to perform. It's not uncommon for him to finish playing one show, and then stop at a nearby club and play the rest of the night. The guy just loves to play, and he's amazing at it. If you don't believe me, watch him step on and perform with these other all-stars of music and whip their a**es at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in this video. He comes on at about 3:30:
Everything about him just screams cool. You might think when he falls backwards into the crowd while still on his solo is contrived, but it is SO different when you see something like that live and how awesome it is. For instance, I saw Muse almost two years ago and Matt Bellamy is jamming to Hysteria and kicked over his guitar amp, and knelt on top of it while still continuing to play. I actually thought to myself, "I thought that sort of thing would feel so fake, but that might have been the coolest effing thing I've ever seen in my life." He was even wearing this same red suit.
Anyway...back to Prince. I guess the kid playing next to Tom Petty is George Harrison's son. At the 4:51 mark when Prince falls back you can even see the kid start smiling at how utterly cool that move was. And for good measure, when he finishes he just throws his guitar up in the air and walks off stage. You have no idea where it even goes. So awesome.
The top 5 I'd pay hundreds of dollars for. Maybe up to $300-400 before I really started to flinch (and these are for good seats, mind you). The next three I think would be cool. You can't underestimate how much more fun a show is when you know every song that the band is playing, and there are few songs more fun to sing to than Bon Jovi songs. I think Jay Z would be cool just because he's probably the best rapper of all time. I'm not a huge Radiohead fan, but I've heard they are pretty amazing live. I've been aching to see 311 live, and I blew three opportunities to see them in the last month because I didn't know anyone else who felt like forking out $50 for them. Lame.
Well there you have it. Who are you dying to see?
6 comments:
with all those mentions about my blog, how can i not comment?
want to kill two birds with one stone? ive read that muse is opening for U2 at their show in new york. how incredible would that be?
http://dietrichthrall.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/muse-joining-u2-for-select-north-american-tour-dates/
i got pit tickets for the muse show in irvine and its money i have never once regretted spending. perhaps that's because i took my future wife, but at the time, we werent even dating. i had already seen them so i knew that it was going to be a great show, but being that close was just unbelievable. tickets werent cheap, but well below the $300-$400 you said you were willing to pay.
prince is an interesting choice. one i hadnt considered. if you appreciate music, i dont know how you couldnt appreciate a guy playing so many instruments.
which is sort of what is amazing about arcade fire. you should like their stuff, but even if you dont, you have to appreciate the fact that they have about 9-10 people on stage all playing different instruments and combining so many sounds to create great music. its impressive that they can bring it all together, live nonetheless. this video blows me away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjxef8AfVQg
shows how close and connected they are, which im sure helps them pull off their sound.
JT is a great one. an obvious oversight on my part. not as good as the MJ, the original, but im sure he puts on a great dance show, just like usher.
Wow. Tickets for the floor for that U2/Muse show are $250. It's funny how cheap that feels when I was ready to pay so much more than that. Now if only I could find anybody else who would be willing to travel and dish out that kind of money.
I watched that video and you're right...it is amazing. Another guy in my program here swears by them and he has pretty good musical tastes also so I think I'm gonna have to give them a try.
I kind of feel like catching these great live bands is like watching great athletes play their sports. You just have to see them live and in person to really appreciate how good they are at their craft. It's an amazing thing to see artists who truly are good at what they do actually perform.
yeah. so true. the other day i read a bill simmons article where he was saying the kobe/MJ debate is just ridiculous if for no other reason than because of the fact that no one ever has or will command a room the way MJ did. that when he walked in a room, no matter how many people were in the room or arena, all eyes were on him. it made me think about one year up at byu (03 maybe) and my roommate was saying we needed to get tickets to the jazz/wizards game to see MJ play in his 'farewell season.' for whatever reason, the date came and went and we didnt get tickets and its something i still regret to this day. especially after reading articles like the bill simmons one.
you need to give arcade fire a try. i hear they are working on a new album so they should tour again sometime in the next year or so. even if you dont like the music, give the show a try.
i told nellie about the muse/U2 show and she about fell out of her seat and begged for us to go. NY is a little far so i cant commit to that one yet, but if they open for them somewhere in the west, we may have to pony up the money and go. ill be sure to let you know if we do.
Sometimes I think we live parallel lives. I read that Simmons article, and I was surprised how much credit he gave Kobe. I love Bill, but sometimes that unabashed Boston-love irks me.
I had the same thought about going to see MJ play even when he was just out of retirement #2.
You already know this, but it must be so awesome to not only have a wife so pumped about spending money on concerts, but ones that you also like. Jackpot, Kent, jackpot.
Muse was seriously a rocking concert. I trust your music tastes enough that I'd definitely go to something with you on a whim.
I really do want to go and see No Doubt, after some comments from my friends on how much of a fun show it was.
Jared, I'm flattered by that comment. I'll be sure not to let you down. I had a friend who just caught No Doubt and loved it, so that could be worth catching also.
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