FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: JonFromMaplewood on September 09, 2008, 09:58:39 AM
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Sorry if this has already been a thread. Three-way tie for the best live show(s) I ever saw:
1) Fugazi, 1989, at 242 Main Teen Center in Burlington, VT. Right around when the Margin Walker EP came out. People were packed in like sweaty sardines. I had never seen people "mosh" before. It was a life-changing event.
2) Butthole Surfers at Saratoga Winners outside of Saratoga Springs around 1990. Bad Livers opened for them. I had never seen such insanity in my life. Full of Deadheads who had gone a liiiittle too far with the blotter acid, and needed some stronger music. But when the Surfers started playing, the Deadheads started moving back. It was too, too much for them. Charlie's Angels shown backwards and upside down over footage of penis surgery; Gibby never facing the audience; Paul Leary blowing my mind with his guitar antics; two drummers, standing up, banging away on their sets like some fucked up tribal ceremony; and amidst all of that, an occasional beautiful melody finding its way through the chaos. Now THAT'S entertainment.
3) Mountain Goats, around 1999 at Brownie's (not there anymore). John Darnielle alone on stage with his acoustic guitar most of the time. I have never seen one guy hold people's attention for so long. You couldn't take your eyes off of him. He seemed like there was nothing on earth he would rather be doing. So joyous. I have been a die-hard fan ever since. Recent shows have been less energetic, and draw much larger crowds. BUT you get to see The Gorch drum for him, which is amazing.
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Flaming Lips
July 2002
London Astoria
Two weeks before 'Yoshimi' came out. Three weeks before I moved to the United States.
It was a range of emotions. All of them good.
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The Roots, just before they got somewhat arrogant, circa Do You Want More??!!!?
Maxwell, just when his first album had dropped and he looked like the second coming of Marvin, 1997
Cassandra Wilson, just before she got boring (again)
Many of my heroes are DJs, so a lot of my best live shows have been club sets, by the likes of Jeff Mills, Psychonauts, Gilles Peterson, Dego, DJ Shadow, and Kerri Chandler.
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Radiohead, this year. They put on an awesome show.
The Pink Floyd show in 1987 was my first major concert. It was gargantuan - the last gasp of real 70s style arena-rock - a huge crowd in Raleigh. I am pleased that I was there.
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Unwound at Lounge Ax in Chicago, 1995. Incredibly loud and heavy, but melodic. It was like being immersed in sound.
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Radiohead at the Gorge in Washington, 2001. It was the only time they played the original version of "Reckoner" - not that great a song, but when you're being pummeled with it in the fourth row, it's life-changing. And the rest of the setlist was outstanding.
Honorable mentions: The Dismemberment Plan at Modified in Phoenix, 2003; Guided by Voices at Nita's Hideaway in Tempe, 2001; LCD Soundsystem/Arcade Fire at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, 2007.
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Phil Ochs at St. Lawrence University in 1966. It remains one of my fondest memories.
Second half of a Bruce Springsteen concert in the early eighties. I wasn't a huge fan, but someone else paid for the ticket. Was unmoved during the first half, but during the second I even stood up for the bulk of it. Really pretty wonderful.
Billy Bragg at Bowdoin College in 1991. Tiny room. Great.
Runners-up:
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau at Carnegie Hall in the fall of 1975. Tears were streaming down my face by the end of it. Such a voice that man had.
Dave Van Ronk at the Left Bank Cafe in Blue Hill, ME, in 1992. An honor to have heard him live.
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Mos Def circa 03 Bowdoin College, Maine... he played with his band Black Jack Johnson, i meet Dr. Know at the show, he had to be one of the dirtiest people i had ever meet, and by dirty i mean like covered in dirt. A+ performance.
The Melvins Circa 01 at the North Six, Brooklyn. totally arrogant, hardly even looked at the audience, played flawlessly. at the end of their set they turned on this box that said "thanks". solid A performance.
The Roots circa 07 Colby College, Maine. this was durring the tour when they where doing alot of cover songs by the likes of Nas, Wu-Tang, Led Zeppelin, and did the 10 min Machine Gun/Masters of War song. the Roots played for over 2 hours. A+
others of note, the Flaming Lips (they put on a hell of a show), Sonic Youth (playing a half empty theater with a sound system that had to be the worst ever. all it was was echos and feedback. halfway through the show i think they abandon the set list and made as much noise as they could), and Megadeth... i know i know, but i got free tickets and figured why not. i was almost 100 feet away in the stands and every time one of the Pyros blew i could feel the heat, AWESOME!! also Acid Mothers Temple in 2006, that was great!!!
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Mos Def circa 03 Bowdoin College, Maine...
Ha!
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Mos Def circa 03 Bowdoin College, Maine...
Ha!
yeah the best part, Mos Def came out on stage and said "My Ni**az!!!" and the 99.9% white audience went crazy.... Surreal!!
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Was the concert in the tiny room with the stuffed polar bear in the hall outside?
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no it was in the Gym, and it was in the middle of February and very cold in the gym...
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I figured Mos Def probably rated a bigger space. Too bad: he might have gotten almost as much mileage out of the polar bear as Billy Bragg did.
Note: This is my 2999th post. Good god.
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David Byrne, Bowery Ballroom, 2001 vs. Lollapalooza, Waterloo Village, 1991
It's a toss up. David Byrne was flawless and innovative. He made the 5,001st time I heard Psycho Killer sound like the first.
Lollapalooza, the exact opposite: A dust bowl of phernomes, feedback and day-time strobe lights. I was 13, I had weird hair, and never in my life had I seen so many pale, sickly, looking children wearing the letters 'N,' 'I', and backwards 'N' printed on black t-shirts. It was like recess at a apocalyptic, dystopian, mutant, rock n' roll high school, and the Butthole Surfers were responsible for watching your children. I could only imagine what my mother thought, she brought me and my only friend there. Poor Simon, he was so scared he wouldn't leave the blanket. Ahh, youth....
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Half Japanese in DC, last summer. The classic lineup reunited, they played all of the good stuff, the crowd went wild, etc. Jad Fair was playing an acoustic guitar that was strung with yarn instead of guitar strings. Off-the-charts awesome.
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-Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows, Maxwell's, 2001. Special guests included Gilbert Gottfried, Penn and Teller, Clint Conley, David Cross...others I'm forgetting...good times!
-Acid Mothers Temple, First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, 2003. Boy, can they shred. It was also the hottest day of July and the church basement sorely lacks air-conditioning. My face was melted by both the guitar playing and the heat.
-Go-Betweens, Renfrew Ferry in Glasgow, May 2005. A solid show from one of my favorite bands ever, made all the more poignant by the passing of Grant McLennan less than a year later.
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Lovage/Dalek at the House Of Blues in Chicago. I knew Lovage would be good and Dalek just blew me away. They were like watching mad scientists rushing about a lab working with bizarre equipment.
Gavin would be proud as almost a tie with the Lovage show is the Mr. Bungle/Dillenger Escape Plan show in the basement of the Rave. It was like 100 degrees out with no air circulation in the basement and the show started two hours late. Everyone was kind of getting pissed b/c the music they were playing over the PA was like new age, instrumental stuff but once they took the stage, none of that mattered.
Chris Whitley at the small stage in the Rave is up there as well.
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Without a doubt, Springsteen on "The River" tour.
A close second? Yes, on the "Tales From Topographic Oceans".
Third would probably be King Crimson, in the summer of either '03 or '04.
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Last night. Silver Jews at Maxwell's.
For me, It was the greatest thing to finally see them live.
David Berman is one of a kind.
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Radiohead at Santa Barbara Bowl, August 28th, 2008
Radiohead at the Gorge in Washington, 2001. It was the only time they played the original version of "Reckoner" - not that great a song, but when you're being pummeled with it in the fourth row, it's life-changing. And the rest of the setlist was outstanding.
Honorable mentions: The Dismemberment Plan at Modified in Phoenix, 2003; Guided by Voices at Nita's Hideaway in Tempe, 2001; LCD Soundsystem/Arcade Fire at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, 2007.
2001...that was at old nita's, yeah?
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Rocket From the Tombs- I know it was on Thanksgiving at 7th St. Entry. 2002 or 2003, I can't remember.
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Hi all -
First time, long time - but I had to chime in on this one: my best live show was Athens, GA's Five-Eight, who played an amazingly blistering 25 minute set (cut short by the prior band running long) at Boston's short-lived club The Causeway oh, about 14-15 years ago.
They're an amazing live band, but they haven't toured up here in quite some time. I was thinking that the Jay Reatard-loving Best Show fans might dig them.
Their not-updated-very-often myspace page is here: http://www.myspace.com/fiveeight (http://www.myspace.com/fiveeight)
Who else? There's lots I'm forgetting.... um, The Wrens are always pretty amazing live.
anywho, that's all I got for now!
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Radiohead at Santa Barbara Bowl, August 28th, 2008
Honorable mentions: The Dismemberment Plan at Modified in Phoenix, 2003; Guided by Voices at Nita's Hideaway in Tempe, 2001; LCD Soundsystem/Arcade Fire at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, 2007.
2001...that was at old nita's, yeah?
Yeah, it was one of the outdoor shows. I went to a few shows at the steakhouse, but I wasn't that taken with it.
Nita's closed pretty soon after that move, right? I moved in the summer of '03, so I haven't kept close tabs on the concert venues there.
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Liquid Liquid in 2003 at the Knitting Factory - hands down best show ever.
And, The Ex & Gétatchèw Mèkurya were pretty amazing a few weeks back.
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Yeah, I'm one of those Radiohead people, specifically on the Kid A tour (2000 or 2001, I'm fuzzy) at Grant Park in Chicago. Beta Band opened. It was a super hot Chicago summer day and I think I was there for 5 or 6 hours, just to get up front. Other shows have come close, but I doubt anything will top seeing the band that meant the most to me at that point in my life for the very first time.
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Radiohead at Santa Barbara Bowl, August 28th, 2008
Honorable mentions: The Dismemberment Plan at Modified in Phoenix, 2003; Guided by Voices at Nita's Hideaway in Tempe, 2001; LCD Soundsystem/Arcade Fire at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, 2007.
2001...that was at old nita's, yeah?
Yeah, it was one of the outdoor shows. I went to a few shows at the steakhouse, but I wasn't that taken with it.
Nita's closed pretty soon after that move, right? I moved in the summer of '03, so I haven't kept close tabs on the concert venues there.
i moved in 2005, but yeah it closed right after the move to southern, something about bad financial management and too much space.
i fly back and forth to take care of cancer mom in phoenix, but i guess the old nita's and the adult shop next door were demolished and turned into a giant outdoor mall. everything from the 2000-2003 to see shows is now closed, except the modified.
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Kimya Dawson, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Langhorne Slim at Tonic in 2003. What a fun lineup! I remember Langhorne's lobster sweater and dancing onstage with Kimya and a bunch of other lovable strangers.
I miss Tonic soooooooo much.
Blonde Redhead, LCD Soundsystem, The Arcade Fire at Randalls Island, 2007. I couldn't believe how much dancing went on at that show. Dancing! In NYC! Imagine that. Blonde Redhead played at sunset...and was unbelievable. LCD Soundsystem had a giant disco ball. Arcade Fire ran in an out of the audience and climbed the stage scaffolding. It was just great.
Sleater Kinney in...2001, I want to say. It was my first time seeing them after worshipping them all through high school. Corrine Tucker is f-in amazing, and Janet Weiss was hypnotic on the drums.
Also, I walked though a brooklyn blizzard to see Animal Collective play with Nix Noltes in 2004. Animal Collective was really good, and Nix Noltes blew me away. It's great when you have a group of stone still Williamsburgers in the same room with a messy, exuberant Icelandic folk band. My favorite part: when their cellist shouted out "It's okay, you can dance!"
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I went to Sleater Kinney on that tour as well. I agree, that was a great show.
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SWANS - final tour (1997), crushing loud-quiet wall of sound catharsis, second to none.
Novelty show: Shellac/Blonde Redhead/Thrones sunday morning (9AM) show with free pop tarts and coffee.
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SWANS - final tour (1997), crushing loud-quiet wall of sound catharsis, second to none.
I would've loved to see them. I saw Gira do a solo acoustic show last year and it was great but he pretty much just played Angels of Light stuff (which I actually might like even more than Swans).
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SWANS - final tour (1997), crushing loud-quiet wall of sound catharsis, second to none.
I would've loved to see them. I saw Gira do a solo acoustic show last year and it was great but he pretty much just played Angels of Light stuff (which I actually might like even more than Swans).
I like the Swans stuff with Jarboe, but I don't listen to their stuff too often these days. I love love love Angels of Light for repeated plays at home, and I guess I prefer it to Swans.
Live, however Swans must be an awesome experience.
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The Boredoms at the Middle East in Cambridge, Mass. in the spring or summer of 1992 -
I'm not sure if that was their first American tour. I've never been more surprised or confused by a musical performance. I admit to being high as a kite, but it was like going to the theatre in a madhouse! I only wish I could watch footage of this show now to confirm my recollection of it being total bedlam. I was also 19 and a little stupid!
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A TIE!
1) oblivians/teengenerate, birmingham AL, november 1995, i think. oblivians killing it, second-to-last TG show i think, and jeez! intense intensity!
2) oblivians (reunion)/cheater slicks, memphis TN, halloween 2003, i think? i'm no good with years. oblivians played like every oblivians song EVER and cheater slicks, man, i don't got the words for.
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Pretty much every show I'd ever seen at The Gorge Amphitheater. When the sun sets behind that stage, it can make even the red hot chili peppers seem magical.
(http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/926/gorgenc7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/gorgenc7.jpg/1/w640.png) (http://g.imageshack.us/img58/gorgenc7.jpg/1/)
Though it wasn't my best live show at that venue, it's notable that there was a literal riot in the campgrounds after the late 90's rhcp show in question. Peoples tents and all the portable toilets in one area were overturned and set ablaze, while what may be some of the stupidest people in history frolicked in the human offal mud pit that formed. It was definitely in the top 2 of the wildest mobs I've ever seen. A friend and I ran around the fringes of the pit, her taking pictures of the whole thing and me trying not to get waste flung on me. The police never showed up and it went on for hours, which still confuses me.
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I've seen more than a thousand bands play (not braggin', any tenured bartender in a decent rock club can say the same). Saw a lot of great bands in that time, grew apathetic about just as many, but Swans were just one of those bands that makes you say "holy shit".
Funny thing, I caught Cop Shoot Cop on their final tour as well (1994) and got comped to see Swans "World of Skin" but was too young to get in at the time. Really only had one shot at seeing them, which in hindsight seems true about so many bands.
Angels of Light are great too. Sort of an (honest) maturation of the Swans, I think.
Mogwai sort of explores similar sonic territory live, I think, only noticably less prone to Swans' themes of primal beauty and ugliness.
Anyway, I agree Beth ~ I don't listen to them much anymore either. Comes a point in your life you have to move on. Swans weren't exactly the happiest band ever.
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Flaming Lips Boombox Experiments in a 2000 person room
Flaming Lips New Years Eve Show 2008 (ridiculous homecoming show)
James Taylor at the Zoo in OKC
Beastie Boys/A Tribe Called Quest- Hello Nasty Tour at Kemper Arena
I;m sure I'll think of more for this brag thread.
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The Flaming Lips seem like they would be awesome live. Their Austin City Limits appearance was amazing, and made me really wish I was there.
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James Taylor at the Zoo in OKC
Was the pit out of control when he played "Steamroller?"
I saw him in concert while in college. Not too shabby.
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I;m sure I'll think of more for this brag thread.
You want bragging? I saw Hot Tuna in 1972. Wow, huh?
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uh yeah, I saw Sugar Ray open for 311
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What? You're not bowled over?
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The Scientists at the Dirty Three ATP last year in Minehead!
Had never heard them and they blew my mind.
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Blonde Redhead at Les Foufones Electrique, Montreal, October 1997. They had a creepy, almost telepathic intensity together onstage.
Spiritualized at the same venue only a few months later. I would have to call it transcendent. Too bad I wasn't high.
Peter Bjorn and John, the Commodore, Vancouver, 2006. As a pop band those guys have it all. I've probably never had a more purely satisfying experience at a show.
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I think I blew my best concert experience ever early on: Fishbone at City Gardens in 1987. I only had a vague idea of what to expect, and of course they blew the lid off that little place.
Also in '87, I saw the Pogues at City Gardens and then opening for U2 at MSG. It was, as one would expect, a lesson in contrasts: they former was a pretty typical non-hardcore CG show, while at the latter, the fluorescents were on full and there were maybe 9 people dancing in the whole arena.
Murphy's Law at CGs, multiple times from '86-'88; Rollins put on a pretty great show around then too
Billy Bragg at Irving Plaza in '99 or '00
Mos Def with band at Bowery Ballroom, also around that time
I don't know if this counts, but I saw Patton open for Aimee Mann at Town Hall, also around that time, and had no idea who he was but thought he was one of the funniest comics I'd ever seen
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, also Town Hall, '02 or '03
Patti Smith New Years' Eve show, '06/'07
TL at McCarren Pool last summer
Big Dipper at Maxwell's this past spring
And then, the most disappointing shows: hands down, the worst was Porno for Pyros at Roseland in '93 or '94. O that I had been listening live to the Fab 5 show!! Modest Mouse at Nokia Theater in Times Square was also pretty lousy, even with Johnny Marr.
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Guided by Voices at the Embassy Hotel in London Ontario 1995. It was the Dayton lineup (but with Jim Greer on bass) and it was amazing. They pretty much played Alien Lanes/Bee Thousand with a few Vampire on Titus songs thrown in.
Eric Bachmann at the Horseshoe in Toronto 2006. I was superhungover and almost didn't go to the show but as soon as he started it made my hangover go away. Incredible songwriter, amazing live.
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I saw The Dirtbombs earlier this year. They played a hour-long set without ever pausing between songs. Everything was so well executed. Mindblowing.
Also saw Ted Leo + Rx not too long ago. Not everyone in the crowd was familiar with their music but by the end of the show TL had everyone charmed.
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worst concert ever? Crosby Stills and Nash about 5 years ago at the zoo. I took my dad for father's day and we left at intermission. Nothing like hearing 3 old dudes try to yell their harmony louder than the others to the tune of Helplessly Hoping.
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I saw The Dirtbombs earlier this year. They played a hour-long set without ever pausing between songs. Everything was so well executed. Mindblowing.
They're swinging through town next month and I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing them.
I remember seeing TL maybe 4 or 5 years ago at this indoor skate park in town, which was a pretty rocking show. I wasn't too familiar with him at the time, but by the end of the show he'd made a new fan - although the skateboarders and bmx bikers pulling crazy tricks all around the stage throughout the show didn't hurt either. Stuff like that really keeps the energy up.
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And then, the most disappointing shows: hands down, the worst was Porno for Pyros at Roseland in '93 or '94. O that I had been listening live to the Fab 5 show!! Modest Mouse at Nokia Theater in Times Square was also pretty lousy, even with Johnny Marr.
I haven't seen Modest Mouse live but I've seen them perform on late-night shows or like Festival appearances on TV and Issac Brock just sounds so horrible.
I've been keeping track for a long time of all the shows and I see (and sometimes the setlists) for nostalgia purposes, but I still couldn't say the best show I've seen. Here are the bands I'd say really impressed me live: Beastie Boys, Buddy Guy, The Hives, Pearl Jam, My Morning Jacket, Seu Jorge, Radiohead, Jonathan Richman, and a lot of jam-bands that sounded really good (The Black Crowes, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, The Allman Brothers Band, The Derek Trucks Band)
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Has anyone seen a Reigning Sound gig? Looks so good on Youtube.
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I saw Ratatat last night at the Henry Fonda in LA...a pretty good show, but I felt really old there. I ran into a bunch of my 12th-grade students ("See you first period tomorrow, Ms. Grossman!") and was grumpy about getting home past midnight on a weekday.
The band is good, but it's sort of as if the members of Tortoise were all replaced with Andrew WK clones...in theory, it's great, but somehow...it doesn't quite work...
Maybe this is a question for another thread: when are you too old to keep going to shows?
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NEVER
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Maybe this is a question for another thread: when are you too old to keep going to shows?
A while back I went to two shows in a week and was startled by the age differences. At Yo La Tengo, I felt like I was at a convention of public radio commentators or something. It was all earth tones and people who were older than young, a bunch of "cool dads." At Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (who suuuuuuuuuuuucked) I felt like an old pervert. I have also been to several operas, which have roughly the same demographic as The Queen.
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"It was all earth tones" is the perfect description.
I have to attend (literally, for work) a B-52s concert in two weeks. Metric and Ben Lee are opening. I am kind of dreading it.
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I hit the same point of feeling too old to be at shows anymore. The "on a weekday?"/"I kinda have to to get up for work tomorrow..."/"how old are these people?" thought process trifecta is the sign.
Thinking about the first two doesn't help when you have a job* that involves wearing a tie**, which makes you want to go home to get changed, so that when you get home you sometimes end up just staying there.
* Yeah, I'm braggin'.
** Professional tier of ties.
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Maybe this is a question for another thread: when are you too old to keep going to shows?
A while back I went to two shows in a week and was startled by the age differences. At Yo La Tengo, I felt like I was at a convention of public radio commentators or something. It was all earth tones and people who were older than young, a bunch of "cool dads." At Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (who suuuuuuuuuuuucked) I felt like an old pervert. I have also been to several operas, which have roughly the same demographic as The Queen.
I went to my first YLT show at age 15 and have seen them at least 30 times over the last nine years (what can I say, I really really REALLY REALLY love Yo La Tengo--it averages out to roughly three times per year), and I always felt like the object of unwanted prevert-cool dad attention. I don't know if I prefer that to feeling like an old lady, though. I guess the crowd at the Wedding Present show next week will be on the older side of things.
Hey, does anyone want to come see the Wedding Present with me?
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I hit the same point of feeling too old to be at shows anymore. The "on a weekday?"/"I kinda have to to get up for work tomorrow..."/"how old are these people?" thought process trifecta is the sign.
Thinking about the first two doesn't help when you have a job* that involves wearing a tie**, which makes you want to go home to get changed, so that when you get home you sometimes end up just staying there.
* Yeah, I'm braggin'.
** Professional tier of ties.
i admit, those questions get a sweep on a work nite. it doesnt make me feel old, but mostly, it makes me evaluate what my life has turned into* and i go anyway. it helps fight off the ruts that come once a month.
*(the opposite of everything i imagined)
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Maybe this is a question for another thread: when are you too old to keep going to shows?
I have been struggling to find a babysitter to watch my kids so I can see Built To Spill on the 25th.
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I saw Ratatat last night at the Henry Fonda in LA...a pretty good show, but I felt really old there. I ran into a bunch of my 12th-grade students ("See you first period tomorrow, Ms. Grossman!") and was grumpy about getting home past midnight on a weekday.
Back when I used to work in a high school, I would see students at shows all the time, and it was weeeeeiiirrrrd.
A while back I went to two shows in a week and was startled by the age differences. At Yo La Tengo, I felt like I was at a convention of public radio commentators or something. It was all earth tones and people who were older than young, a bunch of "cool dads."
I had the misfortune of seeing Wilco on the Ghost Is Born tour, and it was definitely a case of that. Me and my early-20s date honestly seemed like we were in the youngest 1% of attendees. Combine that with the fact that it was a seated show, and that Jeff Tweedy actually stopped the show to yell at some people who had decided to stand up and dance/move around a bit, and it was not the recipe for a fun night of live music.
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Flaming Lips Boombox Experiments in a 2000 person room
I saw one of these as well. It was cool.
I didn't man a boombox myself, because I was working, but I talked a couple friends (who themselves are/were experimental musicians) into doing so.
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at the Radiohead show last month, i felt really young and much older than i expected to feel. granted, im (only) twenty-five, but to see a guy (easily in his forties) with both of his kids, pumping his fists in the air and singing along to radiohead, shooting looks to his wife ("this is so much fun!"), really brought weird to the surface.
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at the Radiohead show last month, i felt really young and much older than i expected to feel. granted, im (only) twenty-five, but to see a guy (easily in his forties) with both of his kids, pumping his fists in the air and singing along to radiohead, shooting looks to his wife ("this is so much fun!"), really brought weird to the surface.
I'm picking up an undercurrent to some of the posts here, and I'm just going to go ahead and come out and say it -
Seriously, old people: you need to stop going to shows. You are making us feel weird.
Thank you.
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excluding Sarah.
note: i dont know if she's "old" but Hot Tuna in '72...my mom was eleven.
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Combine that with the fact that it was a seated show, and that Jeff Tweedy actually stopped the show to yell at some people who had decided to stand up and dance/move around a bit, and it was not the recipe for a fun night of live music.
ICK! Well, that seals it, my Jeff Tweedy crush is totally over.
I saw them on that tour at Skidmore and it was actually an amazing show. It was standing. Nels Cline really helped to make it extra awesome. With the release of Sky, Blue Sky, however, I don't know if I would pay to see them again.
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The Dirtbombs show in Detroit was great. There was a lot going on that night for them, end of tour, members leaving... they put on a great show.
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excluding Sarah.
Nice of you, but why exclude me? If anything, Dave from Knoxville is the one who should get the pass: he's actually still interested in this kind of thing, while I haven't done anything of this sort since the early nineties. I'll go see TL if he and the Pharmacists ever perform in St. John, but that's it.
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excluding Sarah.
Nice of you, but why exclude me? If anything, Dave from Knoxville is the one who should get the pass: he's actually still interested in this kind of thing, while I haven't done anything of this sort since the early nineties. I'll go see TL if he and the Pharmacists ever perform in St. John, but that's it.
...i forgot about Dave.
EDIT: excluding Sarah and Dave from Knoxville. and other older, active, show going FOTs.
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To be honest, I'd rather take Spike's approach: people under the age of 20 shall neither be seen nor heard at shows.
I'm 24, so technically I don't exist to Spike until next year.
(With the exception of Emma, who can and should go wherever she damn well pleases.)
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How old is too old? I want to make sure I'm aware when I slide into that range.
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I saw an in-store today by Tea Leaf Green at the Disc Exchange. Seemed like their "real" stuff might be fun, nice guys, great guitarist.
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To be honest, I'd rather take Spike's approach: people under the age of 20 shall neither be seen nor heard at shows.
I'm 24, so technically I don't exist to Spike until next year.
(With the exception of Emma, who can and should go wherever she damn well pleases.)
You are a sweetheart. I try not to be one of those annoying concertgoing kids everyone hates, but I fear the worst - I have been known to do my fair share of dancing and sing-alonging and bringing-bands-baked-goods-ing. I don't push people, though.
On the other end of things, I'm not at all weirded out by over-40-types at shows, unless we are talking about that one totally tubular [I type it now! I can't help it!] guy who used to try and start pits at all-ages punk things here. He was kind of Hammerhead-ish, now that I think about it - I remember standing next to him once at the edge of a crowd; he was shaking his head and sighing this big sigh. When I asked him what was wrong he was like "nobody really gets into it anymore, you know?" Poor guy. He hates the weak pits!
My goodness, that veered off topic quickly.
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To be honest, I'd rather take Spike's approach: people under the age of 20 shall neither be seen nor heard at shows.
I'm 24, so technically I don't exist to Spike until next year.
(With the exception of Emma, who can and should go wherever she damn well pleases.)
You are a sweetheart. I try not to be one of those annoying concertgoing kids everyone hates, but I fear the worst - I have been known to do my fair share of dancing and sing-alonging and bringing-bands-baked-goods-ing. I don't push people, though.
On the other end of things, I'm not at all weirded out by over-40-types at shows, unless we are talking about that one totally tubular [I type it now! I can't help it!] guy who used to try and start pits at all-ages punk things here. He was kind of Hammerhead-ish, now that I think about it - I remember standing next to him once at the edge of a crowd; he was shaking his head and sighing this big sigh. When I asked him what was wrong he was like "nobody really gets into it anymore, you know?" Poor guy. He hates the weak pits!
My goodness, that veered off topic quickly.
Was that Joey Shithead? Also, what kind of baked goods would you bring to bands? I've never heard of that one, but that would be a huge perk if I were in a band.
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Was that Joey Shithead?
I wish. Then it maybe wouldn't have been quite so creepy. Or it would have been just as creepy, but it would make a better story?
Also, what kind of baked goods would you bring to bands? I've never heard of that one, but that would be a huge perk if I were in a band.
Mostly cupcakes. It doesn't happen often, but when it does the results are usually good. I made chocolate cupcakes for the Hylozoists (http://thehylozoists.com/) once because they were playing a free show at Harbourfront and I think their music is pretty, but there are like 20 of them so I ended up showing up like an hour early, carrying a million cookie tins. I'm sure I looked like a crazy person. They dedicated a song to me, though, which was surprising and awesome.
I made TL vegan brownies the first time I saw him play live, too! He was super nice to me, of course. That was probably one of the best shows I've ever been to, now that I think about it.
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I love the Hyozoists. Theremin + vibraphone = always good stuff. Definitely some weak pits at those shows,though.
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Wes pretty much has it right. Don't think there's a point where a person formally decides to stop going to shows (unless maybe there's some sort of life event that really precipitates/necessitates it). It just slowly starts to happen. I think most of your club-going crowd is inherently socially adept enough to allow the same currents that swept them in eventually sweep them away on to the next thing.
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The older I get, the less I care about that sort of thing - I freaked out about it a little when I turned 30, but now I don't even think about it. Young, old, people go to shows to have fun. I do have to admit being waaaay over the Cocaine Heights scenesters at McCarren Pool shows who all look like American Apparel ads and don't know who any of the bands are, and sometimes the obviously-wealthy skate dad types can be a little irritating, but honestly I can't imagine it mattering that much.
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holy shit. you're over 30?
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holy shit. you're over 30?
Yah, how did you get in here?
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Mostly cupcakes. It doesn't happen often, but when it does the results are usually good. I made chocolate cupcakes for the Hylozoists (http://thehylozoists.com/) once because they were playing a free show at Harbourfront and I think their music is pretty, but there are like 20 of them so I ended up showing up like an hour early, carrying a million cookie tins. I'm sure I looked like a crazy person. They dedicated a song to me, though, which was surprising and awesome.
I made TL vegan brownies the first time I saw him play live, too! He was super nice to me, of course. That was probably one of the best shows I've ever been to, now that I think about it.
the majority of my friends/people i know are in bands and i have heard and seen this phenomena: droves of girls bringing cupcakes or baked goods and even legitimate food (spaghetti in ziploc bags, casseroles in tupperware, etc). pretty insane, but it never went unappreciated. when those same girls turned 21, they had a never-ending free line of beer buyers, which i also reaped the benefits of.
dont stop bringing those cupcakes, emma...people gotta eat.
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The older I get, the less I care about that sort of thing - I freaked out about it a little when I turned 30, but now I don't even think about it. Young, old, people go to shows to have fun.
I tried using the same reasoning with my PO to explain why I like hanging around playgrounds after school. I mean, they're just fun!
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Don't think there's a point where a person formally decides to stop going to shows (unless maybe there's some sort of life event that really precipitates/necessitates it).
Teaching high school freshman in the south side of Newark, NJ was that life event for me. Sadly, I was only 27. I had a personal rule to be in bed by 10 p.m on week nights. If not, I would pay the consequences the next day. I only broke my rule once to go see Vic Thrill and the Saturn Missile. Sure enough, in 3rd period Robert smelled my weakness and threw our last working computer monitor out of our 4th floor classroom window. I vowed to never do it again.
But in hindsight it was well worth it to be apart of this spectacle:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5qHemVYYRk[/youtube]
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The older I get, the less I care about that sort of thing - I freaked out about it a little when I turned 30, but now I don't even think about it. Young, old, people go to shows to have fun. I do have to admit being waaaay over the Cocaine Heights scenesters at McCarren Pool shows who all look like American Apparel ads and don't know who any of the bands are, and sometimes the obviously-wealthy skate dad types can be a little irritating, but honestly I can't imagine it mattering that much.
I agree. I was way more concerned about this before 30. Now, because the arrangements are more complicated (wife, kids, work, etc.) when I do go to a show, I go because I have to see that show. I don't care about the rest.
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Don't think there's a point where a person formally decides to stop going to shows (unless maybe there's some sort of life event that really precipitates/necessitates it).
Teaching high school freshman in the south side of Newark, NJ was that life event for me. Sadly, I was only 27. I had a personal rule to be in bed by 10 p.m on week nights. If not, I would pay the consequences the next day. I only broke my rule once to go see Vic Thrill and the Saturn Missile. Sure enough, in 3rd period Robert smelled my weakness and threw our last working computer monitor out of our 4th floor classroom window. I vowed to never do it again.
But in hindsight it was well worth it to be apart of this spectacle:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5qHemVYYRk[/youtube]
Jay-sus. I will never complain about my students again.
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mike watt at various spots in philadelphia over the years- he was outstanding pretty much any/every time i've seen him.
roky erickson at webster hall in new york in march '08 - there's no words to describe how incredible this was.
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Thee Hypnotics at the 930 Club, 1990
They are totally forgotten now, but that night they played a hybrid Hendrix/Stooges thing at a volume that paralyzed everybody in attendance.
Shudder to Think at the 930 Club, 1991
Encore of 'The Joker' dedicated to Homer Simpson
Sonic Youth and Holy Rollers at UMD, 1990
ZZTop in Indy in the 80s
Superchunk in Bloomington, 1998 (after they had recorded Indoor Living in Bloomington)
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The Dismemberment Plan/The Vehicle Birth at The Dharma Coffeehouse, 1994
Fugazi at Fort Reno, 1994
Medications at The Galaxy Hut, 2008
Radiohead at Nissan Pavillion, 2008
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holy shit. you're over 30?
I feel like I've been zung but I'm not sure how. Like the zing gun just went off and I'm feeling around looking for a wound or something.
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aw, you know i'm joking. I'll be 30 in 6 months, which I believe makes me in the upper echelon (sp?) of FOT
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I'm weeping over here
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I think you and I are outliers on the Best Show bell curve, DFK.
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Stay strong with me, JFM! Oh, wait, it's time for my heart pill.
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aw, you know i'm joking. I'll be 30 in 6 months, which I believe makes me in the upper echelon (sp?) of FOT
I took no offense, I was just too dense to get it.
I actually hadn't noticed that I was chatting online with a bunch of people about 10 years younger than me on average. But you, know, I really am about 4 years behind in terms of emotional/personal development, and always have been. It was a much bigger deal when I was 10 or 15 or 20.
I pretty much do have the life of a 33-year-old: married, graduate degree, respectable job with benefits and a 401(k), and an emergent artistic career, but still a renter, no kids, and a shitload of debt.
Oh, and Yesno, I watch my neighbor's 6-year-old kid every so often while his mom hangs out with my wife, and I have to say it's awesome to have an excuse to hang out at the playground and skateboard and go on swings and stuff. And everyone looks at me admiringly, thinking I'm a good dad, instead of calling the cops.
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I saw Ratatat last night at the Henry Fonda in LA...a pretty good show, but I felt really old there. I ran into a bunch of my 12th-grade students ("See you first period tomorrow, Ms. Grossman!") and was grumpy about getting home past midnight on a weekday.
The band is good, but it's sort of as if the members of Tortoise were all replaced with Andrew WK clones...in theory, it's great, but somehow...it doesn't quite work...
I was at Ratatat the following night and it was the best show of 2008 for me, just beating Mudcrutch (and I've seen plenty this year). However, the very next night it got surpassed by Built to Spill playing the entire Perfect From Now On album at the Troubadour. Yeah-yuh! And you're never too old to go to a show you want to go to.
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Having a kid does a lot to balance out the otherwise boring and predictable nature of post 30s life, I have found. Gives life meaning, hope for the future, all that sappy cliched stuff...
aw, you know i'm joking. I'll be 30 in 6 months, which I believe makes me in the upper echelon (sp?) of FOT
I took no offense, I was just too dense to get it.
I actually hadn't noticed that I was chatting online with a bunch of people about 10 years younger than me on average. But you, know, I really am about 4 years behind in terms of emotional/personal development, and always have been. It was a much bigger deal when I was 10 or 15 or 20.
I pretty much do have the life of a 33-year-old: married, graduate degree, respectable job with benefits and a 401(k), and an emergent artistic career, but still a renter, no kids, and a shitload of debt.
Oh, and Yesno, I watch my neighbor's 6-year-old kid every so often while his mom hangs out with my wife, and I have to say it's awesome to have an excuse to hang out at the playground and skateboard and go on swings and stuff. And everyone looks at me admiringly, thinking I'm a good dad, instead of calling the cops.
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I saw Ratatat last night at the Henry Fonda in LA...a pretty good show, but I felt really old there. I ran into a bunch of my 12th-grade students ("See you first period tomorrow, Ms. Grossman!") and was grumpy about getting home past midnight on a weekday.
The band is good, but it's sort of as if the members of Tortoise were all replaced with Andrew WK clones...in theory, it's great, but somehow...it doesn't quite work...
I was at Ratatat the following night and it was the best show of 2008 for me, just beating Mudcrutch (and I've seen plenty this year). However, the very next night it got surpassed by Built to Spill playing the entire Perfect From Now On album at the Troubadour. Yeah-yuh! And you're never too old to go to a show you want to go to.
Hey-- I know you, Justinline! Just wait until I see you at the Sloan show next month. Way to advertise yourself on the FOT board.
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Mogwai at Irving Plaza in 04.
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Did anyone else go to The Hold Steady show last night at the old Emigrant Savings Bank? It was an awful venue acoustically . .I know it's for the Artist Den broadcast on Ovation, so maybe they didn't care about the mix for the live audience. Frustrating . . .and I didn't see PBR there either.