i heard they suck live

Aragorn Returns · Post by **Aragorn Returns** » Sun Apr 21, 2002 8:13 pm

i went to the pop disaster tour at the verizon wireless ampitheatre in Irvine yesterday. They bands playing were Jimmy Eat World, Green Day, and Blink 182. I missed Jimmy Eat World, but Green Day just blew me away. they had one of the best live shows i've ever seen. i'm wondering what bands everybody has seen live and who they think the best live performers are. My vote goes out to Green Day and System of a Down (i saw them in december) the band that i hear is really really good live is Stone Temple Pilots, has anybody seen them? what did you think? Oh, and i snuck into the pit between green day and blink so i was up really really close for blink, it was awesome.

VoodooDali · Post by **VoodooDali** » Sun Apr 21, 2002 8:46 pm

I've seen so many concerts in the past 25 years, that it's impossible to list them all.

Ones that stand out in my head:
Arlo Guthrie/Pete Seeger at the Hollywood Bowl in 1971. (I was about 10 years old--first time I saw real hippies--long hair, joints, beads and all)
Queen in 1976--first rock concert. My dad took me so I wouldn't get into trouble. He loved it.
Bob Dylan in 1976 mostly performing songs from his album Desire.
Yes--1977 or so. They had a big layered cake like stage that revolved. Jon Anderson was on the top. Rick Wakeman was the next level down, etc. You could see them no matter where you were sitting.
Rush--1978. I hated the band, but they had a good show.
Grateful Dead--1978--for some reason that year they decided to play 4 different times. I don't remember much about the shows, so it must have been good.
X--1980. Unfortunately stuffed into a corral with all the sweaty teenaged boys because I was a minor. Great show, though.
King Crimson--1981. Saw them in a chapel at Washington University in St. Louis. I could have touched Robert Fripp on the knee. Bill Bruford is a amazing drummer.
Pretenders--1981. Saw them for the second time at the same chapel. The old band. First time I saw them they opened for the Who and got booed off the stage. Everyone was yelling, "Punk Rock sucks--we want the Who."
U2--1981. Saw them in a basement bar. They were nobody then. Only their album Boy was out. Bono was very drunk.
1980's in Texas
Dead Kennedy's. Jello Biafra's leg was broken and he was singing from a chair. A biker went up on the stage and cold-****ed him because he didn't like the political statements. Jello yelled, "Come back up here you chicken sh-t and face me like a man." The dude went back up on stage and the bouncers threw him off and into a group of skinheads who beat him up. Served him right.
Butthole Surfers--any show.
Scratch Acid--they were my favorite. Good friends of mine. They later formed a band called The Jesus Lizard.
The Clash--had a backstage pass and met all of them because my boyfriend's band was asked by them to open the show.
The English Beat--ditto
Fishbone--ditto
Red Hot Chili Peppers. Made out with Chad (? Name?) the drummer at the party.
Camper Van Beethoven. Remember driving around in their van partying all the next day after the show.

Geez, there's too many to list, ain't there? Maybe I will continue later.

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Sun Apr 21, 2002 9:10 pm

Never seen one live, but both KISS and Alice Cooper are by far the best shows to see.

Post by **BuckGB** » Sun Apr 21, 2002 9:47 pm

I've seen literally hundreds of bands around the United States, and by far the best performances I've caught so far have been Rammstein and Rob Zombie. Granted, these two bands are in my top ten favorite as well, but their tours are absolutely unbelievable.

Take Rob Zombie's initial "Hellbilly Deluxe" tour, for example (pic 1, pic 2). He actually contracted several Hollywood FX people to create an entire castle that took up the whole stage. Two huge plasma displays made up the archways of the castle's front, displaying bits and pieces of just about every horror movie from the 30's to the present. On top of that, he had two female dancers on the top of the castle's towers, several Hollywood-created demon/robot characters that added to the scene (pic), and spent in excess of $20,000 in pyrotechnics on every single show. I read an article at the time that claimed he would probably only break even from the whole tour because of how much investment he had into it. I've seen every tour he's ever been on since his White Zombie days, and regardless of whether or not you like the music, you definitely get your money's worth.

Rammstein definitely puts on an insane pyro show. There's something about seeing them play an entire song while the lead singer's entire body is on fire (pic) that makes your jaw drop. Throughout the entire concert, their stage is filled with fire (pic), complete with flamethrowers (pic 1, pic 2), flaming bows (pic), confetti cannons (pic), and more. Their shows always leave me dehydrated and with plenty of bruises to remember it by =).

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Sun Apr 21, 2002 9:50 pm

Well, Rammstein certainly sounds like a "flaming" good time...

*Awaits the flames*

Aragorn Returns · Post by **Aragorn Returns** » Sun Apr 21, 2002 10:54 pm

i saw a rammstein concert on TV, totally nuts. greenday had everyone rush the stage at one point so we all ran from the terrace down to the front. (sadly we didn't get in the pit or on stage and we got kicked back to our seats later) Near the front we started playing with this tube thing, putting our hands, hands, bottles etc. in it, until we realized it was a cannon. Blink pulled a motley crue and lifted the drummer in the air and twirled him around and everything. (i'm amazed that buck actually responded to a post i made, possibly my best moment on the board)

crazymancometh · Post by **crazymancometh** » Sun Apr 21, 2002 11:24 pm

Originally posted by Aegis
Never seen one live, but both KISS and Alice Cooper are by far the best shows to see.

Seen Kiss on their farewell tour in Atlanta they was awesome....also Motley Crue was great in the 80's great show.Saw Sevendust at a small venue last summer maybe it was the small facility but boy they could jam.Saw Ozzy once was awesome too..Lita Ford was with him.That was when she was half way hot and i was young lol.

Baldursgate Fan · Post by **Baldursgate Fan** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 4:22 am

Originally posted by crazymancometh

Seen Kiss on their farewell tour in Atlanta they was awesome....also Motley Crue was great in the 80's great show.Saw Sevendust at a small venue last summer maybe it was the small facility but boy they could jam.Saw Ozzy once was awesome too..Lita Ford was with him.That was when she was half way hot and i was young lol.

I have not seen any of the bands you mentioned, but I have seen U2 when they came to Singapore many years ago. They rock, even now. A1 was the most recent band I have seen, that is, if you consider them bands.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 4:31 am

I don't get many chances to see live bands, i have however seen Cliff Richard live many years ago

The last band i went to watch live was Goldfrapp who were absolutely, astoudningly, amazingly beautiful...

Macy Gray is actually playing live pretty near me but i think the tickets have already sold out, i will have to check

VoodooDali · Post by **VoodooDali** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 7:41 am

Bands I somehow never got to see live and wish I had (who were still alive when I was old enough to start going to shows):

Elvis
Lou Reed
Iggy & the Stooges
Patti Smith (her band in the 70's)
Sex Pistols
The Selector
The Residents

(So the Ultimate Lurker made a rare post! How fun.)

McBane · Post by **McBane** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 7:52 am

I saw Midnight Oil last fall at a small venue...and was blown away! Peter Garrett has such a presence on stage.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young played here recently as well. They played for 3 1/2 hours. Although the ticket prices were high, the band really made it worthwhile with the long show.

I also think Bob Mould plays a great live show. I have seen him with a band/solo/acoustic....it doesn't matter, it is well worth it....especially when he digs up some Husker Du songs.

I saw Morrissey last year, and he was great as well. Flamboyant as ever, and managed to have 3 "costume changes" during the show.....

Jace · Post by **Jace** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 8:10 am

@Voodoo, Re your first post -

"We are not worthy" (in best Waynes World - Garth voice)

Best shows I have seen are (in no particular order)

Midnight Oil
U2 (seen them 3 times in two different cities)
Jules Holland (but only if you like Boogie)
Rickie Lee Jones (seen her three times - two were great & one was awful)
Alice Cooper (He actually came to Perth, West Aust, in the 70's. And my parrents let me go and see him!)

Most bizare (but good) thing I have seen is a jazz harpist by the name of Park Stickney play Bohemian Rhapsody on a full concert harp. I can not describe how good this was, but I was thinking the whole time "This guy is playing a Harp! How can you play this on a harp?"

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 10:36 am

@Voodoo,

seeing dylan circa '76 would have been amazing. too bad i was just a little kid. I view desire as his best work. I've seen dylan five times dating back to '87. He's pretty much hit or miss. Sometimes he was good, other times he was awful.

I missed Yes although they have always been one of my faves.

Backstage to the clash must have been great.

Interesting about U2. Being a Chowda Head, I remember them hitting the boston scene in the early 80's. I was certainly too young to see them but I remember the days of Boy.

@McBane,

CSN&Y: The prices up in MN were exorbitant, so I passed. I've seen CSN twice (89 & 91). They were ok. In 94, I saw a solo Neil Young (1/3 acoustic, 1/3 electric, 1/3 piano) I have never seen a better solo perfomance.

Other good acts I've seen:

The Moody Blues with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. I seen them three other times but with the orchestra it was awesome to watch them do 'days of future passed' from start to finish without a pause.

I saw SRV the night before he died. Alpine Valley is such a great venue. If you live in the upper midwest US, I'd recommend it sometime.

Ben Harper at First Avenue in Minneapolis in '94. He opened for the fugees. the crowd was about 1500 people. When we left, we all knew both groups were going places.

To answer you AR, I've seen STP and they put on a good show. I saw them early on back in the days of core. I think Scott weilen may have been on horse.

I've seen the who, the stones, mccartney, Robert Plant, and some of the other classics. They're memorable shows but I really missed out on seeing those acts in their prime.

I saw Fela Kuti in the early 90's in milwaukee in a small concert hall setting. He had the full 40 person ensemble entourage on stage. It was incredible.

More later.

Vicsun · Post by **Vicsun** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 11:11 am

Originally posted by Buck Satan
I've seen literally hundreds of bands around the United States, and by far the best performances I've caught so far have been Rammstein and Rob Zombie. Granted, these two bands are in my top ten favorite as well, but their tours are absolutely unbelievable.

Take Rob Zombie's initial "Hellbilly Deluxe" tour, for example (pic 1, pic 2). He actually contracted several Hollywood FX people to create an entire castle that took up the whole stage. Two huge plasma displays made up the archways of the castle's front, displaying bits and pieces of just about every horror movie from the 30's to the present. On top of that, he had two female dancers on the top of the castle's towers, several Hollywood-created demon/robot characters that added to the scene (pic), and spent in excess of $20,000 in pyrotechnics on every single show. I read an article at the time that claimed he would probably only break even from the whole tour because of how much investment he had into it. I've seen every tour he's ever been on since his White Zombie days, and regardless of whether or not you like the music, you definitely get your money's worth.

Rammstein definitely puts on an insane pyro show. There's something about seeing them play an entire song while the lead singer's entire body is on fire (pic) that makes your jaw drop. Throughout the entire concert, their stage is filled with fire (pic), complete with flamethrowers (pic 1, pic 2), flaming bows (pic), confetti cannons (pic), and more. Their shows always leave me dehydrated and with plenty of bruises to remember it by =).

Originally posted by VoodooDali

So the Ultimate Lurker made a rare post! How fun.

True, true

Witch King · Post by **Witch King** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 1:30 pm

I'm less about stage shows and more about presence at a concert. I think the most impressive, ******* powerful shows I've seen recently have been:

Deicide

High on Fire

Those guys are consumate musicians- TIGHT bands, amazingly precise with a sound that shakes your soul.

Georgi · Post by **Georgi** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 3:14 pm

I haven't been to any big (ie stadium) shows with complicated special effects and staging. And frankly, that's how I like it, because I see bands live for the music, and I'd rather hear it in a more intimate venue where you can stand at the back of the room and still be able to see the band without the aid of a videoscreen. The best gigs I've been to have been Embrace (twice, once at the Royal Albert Hall in London), Spiritualized (also twice), and The Beta Band, all fantastic live performers, but then I'm probably biased because they are three of my favourite bands.

Also went to Reading Festival last year, and I can't even remember all the bands I saw there... The Strokes played the main stage, and they were better than their album sounds... Others I particularly enjoyed were Evan Dando, Supergrass, Hefner, Manic Street Preachers (although the best song were from Everything Must Go, even the (IMO inferior) songs that they've released since sounded good live), Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Ash (just fun).

Word · Post by **Word** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 3:57 pm

the Who

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 6:05 pm

Jimmy Buffett has an amazing live show. Almost no special effects, pyro or other gimmicks, although he does sometimes have some goofy costume changes. But the best part about Buffett is 1) his audience is so hardcore that he has a built in energy with the show, and 2) he plays non-stop for at least two hours; no opening act, no intermission, just straight Parrothead madness.

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 8:02 pm

I haven't been to any concerts, but System of a Down is supposedly really good live. The Rob Zombie concert that Bucky mentioned looks cool.

Aragorn Returns · Post by **Aragorn Returns** » Mon Apr 22, 2002 8:08 pm

ya, system of a down was totally nuts. when i saw them my friends and i snuck up close and sat next to adam corolla and striker from kroq (non southern california people probably have no idea what i'm talking about) i caught a stick that the drummer threw out. The guitarist jumped into the pit and when he came out he was completely naked, not sure what happened in there, glad i wasn't in the pit for that show.