Monday, September 24, 2012

Music Monday: Concerts

I think everyone who loves music can agree there's nothing like going to a great concert. No matter what type of music you enjoy, seeing and hearing it played live is an experience like no other. Most of the time that is a good thing but, as with anything else, there are exceptions. As fun as a great concert can be, a bad concert is a hellish way to spend a few hours.

I was listening to my Ipod while out walking with Clancy over the weekend and started thinking about some of the many concerts I've gone to over the years. It wasn't hard for me to immediately name the best and worst shows I've ever seen.

The Best:

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Born in the USA tour, 1984


I've been a Springsteen fan since I was a little girl and my brother started listening to Greetings from Asbury Park at our house. I saw him live for the first time when I was 15, right at the start of the Born in the USA tour in the summer of 1984. The concert lasted several hours, and I loved every second of it. It was the first concert I ever went to and, after starting with the Boss, it's been hard for anything else to measure up. I've seen Springsteen numerous times since and loved the shows, but there's been nothing to top the magic of that long ago night.

The Worst:

The Spin Doctors, Pocket Full of Kryptonite tour, 1992


If you listened to radio in the early 90s, it's a safe bet that you heard Two Princes by the Spin Doctors. It was a catchy song and my friends and I would walk around singing it all the time. We must have really loved it, because a group of us decided to go see the band when they came to Columbus, Ohio. By the time the concert ended, I never wanted to hear Two Princes or anything else from the Spin Doctors ever again. The whole show was nothing but disjointed noise and I was dying for it to end almost as soon as it started. To my knowledge the band never had another hit album, which was definitely no surprise to me after sitting through that concert.

The One The Got Away:

U2, Zoo TV tour, 1992


I've loved U2 since I was a young teenager in the 80s, but I never saw them in concert until 2005. I had an opportunity to see them in 1992 during their tour to promote Achtung Baby, which I think is their best album, but I didn't take it. I'm glad I finally saw the band live, but I'll always regret not seeing them when they were at their creative peak.

What about you? What's the best concert you've ever seen? Any you'd rather forget? Are there any shows you regret not attending?

Also, I'm really excited to be a guest at The Writing Nut later this week. I'll be hanging out with the wonderful Nutschell on Wednesday for her Wednesday Writer's Workspace series. If you're not already familiar with The Writing Nut, I highly recommend it. Nutschell has a fantastic blog. :)

31 comments:

  1. Any show Rush put on was a great show. (I've seen them over twenty times!) I saw a progressive rock tour and while Dream Theater was great, Zappa on Zappa was far too long. An hour and a half of techno beach music about drove me nuts.

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  2. James Taylor was the best for me.

    The worst was Avril Lavigne (I took my daughter when she was a mere tween). The guy in the warmup band was really sweaty and flung his sweat all over his band members. Grossed me out.

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  3. Achtung, Baby! Best album!!! Oh, we've got to have a chat about U2!!

    And I missed them at Red Rocks in '83 (yes that concert). I was supposed to go but it was raining so I went to the bar instead. Such an idiot. Did see them last year on the 360 tour though and it was incredible. That was my son's first concert. And for the record, U2's War album rocks! :))

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  4. One of the most memorable for me was Andrea Boccelli - not just because of his amazing voice but because my husband and I sat in the second to last row of the venue, waaaaaaay up high. I was so afraid to stand up because I thought I'd fall over. :)

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  5. loved the boss as a teen too, lucky courtney cox!

    best concert, got to see inxs in small venue & was in love w/michael hutchins, got right up front! woo!

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  6. 'By the time the concert ended, I never wanted to hear Two Princes or anything else from the Spin Doctors ever again.'

    This made me smile.

    I love the boss, too. Bet he is magnificent in concert.

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  7. I went to see Lady Gaga a couple of years ago. I don't know if it was the best, but it was a FUN show!

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  8. @Alex, oh, the techno music would have driven me nuts for that long too. I can only take that in small doses.

    @Tonja, I've seen James Taylor a few times and his shows are always wonderful I think. I have great memories of sitting on the lawn at Riverbend and listening to him. :)

    @LG, Sorry to say it but you were an idiot for not going to that Red Rocks show LOL. I remember seeing that on MTV, so cool. I didn't see the 360 tour, no, but how great for your son. They never come to Cincinnati, I had to go to Chicago to see them in '05. Cincinnati is kind of a concert wasteland LOL.

    @Madeline, oh, that sounds very romantic and also lovely. I would have been afraid to stand up too!

    @Tara, isn't it funny to think that's how Courteney Cox started out? Oh, I loved INXS, I bet that was great.

    @Suze, Bruce really is amazing. LOL, I felt myself getting irritated just looking for that video on youtube. What a nightmare show that was.

    @Johanna, oh, I bet that was fun!

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  9. Ben Folds pust on some great shows, but it's hard to peg my favorite concert. I've seen everyone from James Taylor to ZZ Top.

    I'm going to Austin City Limits this year, and I'm looking forward to hearing/seeing Florence+The Machine and the Black Keys. Jack White, too. :-)

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  10. It's been so long since I've been to a concert. I used to go all the time. I miss it!
    My favorite was Silverchair. Staind was awesome, too.

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  11. @EJ, wow, that sounds like such a great show, I'm sure you will love it.

    @Emily, I know, I feel very old when I think how long its been since I went to concerts regularly LOL.

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  12. I haven't been to any concerts in a long time. Maybe I need to change that. :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences.

    It's great to meet you! Thanks so much for visiting my blog. Looking forward to checking out your spot at Nutschell's!

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  13. @Karen, thanks, I'm so glad to have met you too! Thanks for coming by here. :)

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  14. Queen was an awesome concert. My boyfriend forced me to a Grateful Dead concert. :-\ Concerts often got cancelled on me ... Billy Idol and Led Zepplin [the drummer died 2 weeks before]. I'm sorry I missed seeing the Rolling Stones in concert, and I would like to see Elvis Costello, but only if it isn't loud. lol I must be getting old.

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  15. The best was a 10 Years concert. It was held in a small club, and it was such an intimate setting. You practically were right close enough to touch the band.

    The worst was a Mudvayne concert. I lost my friends (aka my rides), and I almost got smooshed by a bunch of guys in the mosh pit. I barely got out of there alive, or it felt like that.

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  16. I was never really into concerts as such, but living near London we used to go to lots of theatre and shows! Loved the whole atmosphere. The theatre going crowd is so special! lol. My favourite show in recent years was Mamma Mia. It was just so fun!

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  17. Really nice music. I don't really like going to concerts because they wear me out, but I definitely like listening to music.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  18. @Mary, oh, I regret not seeing the Stones too. I would love to have seen them in their heyday! LOL, I know I am old too, I wear ear plugs now at concerts.

    @Cherie, I think small clubs can be such great venues, I can imagine that was an awesome show. The mosh pit sounds like a nightmare to me, yikes.

    @Carolyn, I love going to shows too! I'm jealous of you, I loved London when I visited there and have always wanted to go back.

    @Gina, I know what you mean, I end up worn out too now. I love listening to music constantly. :)

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  19. Hi, Julie,

    Bruce Springsteen's music I love, so too U2. The Manhattans have been to Jamaica several times and I've enjoyed their concerts I've been to.

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  20. It's been a lot of years since I went to a concert, but my favorites were Harry Belafonte, Peter, Paul & Mary, and the Righteous Brothers. I would've liked to see Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones,the Three Tenors, and Pink Floyd. I know. Eclectic, right?

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  21. @Joy, we have similar tastes! :)

    @Susan, I like eclectic, I am that way too. Barbra Streisand is another one I'd love to see as well, I remember seeing a video of her concert from the 90s and was just blown away.

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  22. I haven't been to too many concerts and I've been lucky that the ones I've gone to have been good. The best ones were Fleetwood Mac (Their reunion tour The Dance in 2004) and recently, Luke Bryan. I did see Stevie Nicks last year too and that was incredible.

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  23. First, too cool that you've seen Springsteen and U2 live!

    Beyond that, I've only been to one concert: Nine Inch Nails. It was an amazing concert, and I'm glad I went. I do wish I remembered who their opening band was. It was either Perfect Circle or Three Doors Down. I don't remember because I didn't know either of those bands before that. However, they were great, too.

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse

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  24. I spent 16 years waiting to see Depeche Mode and as luck would have it, I saw them three times in TEN days :)

    See you at Nutschell's ... I'll be there guesting next month :)

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  25. @Lisa, oh, I saw the Fleetwood Mac reunion tour on video and loved it. They are great and I would love to have seen them live. Love Stevie Nicks too.

    @Shannon, I bet Nine Inch Nails was a great show. It's fun when you have a good opener too, sometimes the opening acts can be a nightmare LOL.

    @Mark, oh, I love Depeche Mode too! Never saw them live but I bet they were great. How cool that you will be at Nutschell's too, she's awesome.

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  26. I regret not seeing REM and The Police, but at least I've seen Sting twice.

    I loved seeing U2 in 1997. Would've loved seeing them when you did too!

    I could've done without Power Station. Robert Palmer didn't even do the tour. It wasn't worth seeing John Taylor at the time because it wasn't a great concert.

    Live Aid would've been cool too.

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  27. I really haven't been to many concerts in my lifetime. My favorite was New Order. Least favorite: Skinny Puppy in a hole-in-the-wall club.

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  28. I saw U2 for their 360 tour and they were so awesome! My favorite band to see in concert is Tool. I've seen them 6 times now.

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  29. @Theresa, oh, that's so true, I would love to have been at Live Aid. And I saw Sting back in the 90s and LOVED his show, another one of my favorites!

    @Susan, I loved New Order, still listen to them on my Ipod. Bizarre Love Triangle is such a great song.

    @Michael, oh, I bet Tool puts on a great show. Wish I had seen U2 during the 360 tour too.

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  30. Oh! U2 is indeed one of the bands you cannot miss! Their music is just really overwhelmingly good! Even with just watching that video, one can enjoy U2’s awesome performance, which brings a smile and joy to the heart. That’s how amazing music can be. :) Anyway, good thing that you wear ear plugs already. These will really protect your ears. :)

    Darren Mcandrews

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