Almost all of them. Live music is one of the greatest things to experience.
Some people have really dropped the ball in recent years though. I was deeply disappointed by recent Kiss, Marilyn Manson, and ZZTop shows.
Sucks to go see a band you love and be disappointed. Hope your next show is better!
Oh, I’ve had great ones too - these were mostly for my stepson.
You sound like an awesome stepdad!
Seeing ok go with my future wife is one of my all time favourite memories.
Three words: “Weird Al” Yankovic
He and the same guys in his band have been touring together for 40+ years, and the experience shows.
It’s one of the hardest rocking shows out there. Yes, I’m serious.
I won front row tickets to his show and it was lovely! My mother got the signed tshirt and ticket stub framed for me, its in my dining room wall!
I was at Hersey Park for a company picnic one year and there were a lot of people walking around dressed up as Weird Al. While waiting the group from my store on a ride, I noticed there was an amphitheater behind me. I turned around and leaned on the rail trying to figure out what was going on when someone dressed as Weird Al came up next to me and started looking down at the stage, he asked if I knew what was going on. I shrugged and then he ran down the steps and onto stage. It was actually Weird Al.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
I already loved their albums when I discovered them in '16, but once I saw them live i was totally hooked. They’ve only been getting better since, especially after they dumped their second drummer (rip Eric I miss you but you totally held the other drummer back). Every single show I’ve seen since was such a blast! More and more jammy too, which I really enjoy.
Also, I saw The Colour Haze last Friday and they were much better love than I expected as well.
Woo!
Beck. He did a solo acoustic portion in the middle of the set, which is pretty normal. But while he was playing solo they brought out a massive dinner table ala the last supper behind him. They went all out, bringing platters of food and drinks and everything. His band came back out and sat at the table. And then they played the table…
The food was fake. It was shakers and noise makers and percussion instruments. The glasses were tuned crystal. The dinner was his backing band. It was amazing.
Anyone else see this tour? It was right after Guero.
Edit: typo
Buddy Guy. the concert was pretty posh (think bankers in suits), with everyone having arranged seating, audience sitting still and quiet like at a classical music concert.
he was like ‘fuck this, this isn’t a proper concert, my guitar is wireless, let’s stand up, go to the entry hall and jam’. so he’s just standing in the middle of the crowd and going nuts, at like 83 years of age. That was amazing.
I saw buddy at a music fest once and he yelled at the crowd for not singing along in time. Dude is a hilarious legend
I was the DD for my girlfriend’s birthday party and went to a Florence and the Machine show. It was outdoors and as the show got started black storm clouds started rolling in.
When they started “The Dog Days Are Over” all hell broke loose. Sheets of rain, huge lightning bolts and cracking thunder loud enough to drown out the music and the crowd.
But Florence stood there, exposed to it all, diaphanous robes lashed by the wind, not even noticing it as she belted out her anthem. As if she had called down the storm for backup vocals.
I wasn’t a fan before but I am now.
I have never seen so many people ugly cry (full tears and snot) then at a Florence show. She puts on a hell of a show.
When my eldest daughter was born we were overnight at the hospital and had a huge window in our room. My wife had listened to Florence and the machine a lot while pregnant and we are big music lovers who often have music playing around us. We were up at night feeding our first born worrying about being new parents and fidgeting over what we didn’t understand. In the background Florence and the machine was playing quietly. Suddenly a massive rainstorm started seemingly out of nowhere. Crashing lightning. Smashing down torrential rain. Building shaking thunder. We turned up the music and it was like they were just playing for us. It lasted about an hour and I will never forget it.
It was an amazing welcome to the world for our first baby who is now a preteen and your story reminded me of it.
Florence is a storm demigod, confirmed
Muse. They are almost too perfect live. It feels uncanny.
They are my number #1 live too.
Ghost. I was not a fan of theirs at all. I loved their look, but could not get into their music. Then I went to an Iron Maiden concert and Ghost was opening for them. By the second song I was hooked. I have been a huge Ghost fan since. My wife and I are going to Vegas to see them for our anniversary this year.
Barenaked Ladies. Didn’t want to go, went anyway, loved every minute of it
Absolutely. I saw them live a million times in the 90s. I got pelted with Kraft Dinner more times than I can count.
I saw Stephen Page live as part of some group doing a Christmas concert. His vocals absolutely stood out from the others and was just so powerful. I wish he was still with the Barenaked Ladies, but I’ve still enjoyed a lot of their work without him.
His solo albums are fantastic!
When I was 17 I had a highschool girlfriend who drug me to a bare naked ladies show. I was a heavy metal listener at the time but have always had pretty eclectic tastes throughout kife. I loved that show. I was pretty shocked about it at the time.
That worked out!
I saw Jazz guitarist Julian Lage last year and I was not expecting to have my socks completely blown two blocks away. I really enjoy his work and recognize that he is a master of his instrument but holy hell; he and his rhythm section were a hive mind operating in a higher plane of existence. He emitted an energy that I’ve never felt at a concert before. Please check out his trio’s performances on YouTube just to feel a tiny fraction of what happens in person.
ASP
God Speed You! Black Emperor.
Not a band, but Patti Smith, with Philip Glass.
Tool, always. Propagandhi were also great.
I saw Tool live at a festival in 2019. I had never heard of them before, I’m more of a punk rock guy. Their show absolutely blew me away. Surreal experience. I’ve listened to their albums a lot ever since.
I have seen them 7 times between 2002 and 2024, and they were exceptional each time (even if they only played my favourite song for the first time in the '24 gig). I also love that they don’t allow phones at their gigs. It’s great to not have a sea of screens in front of you. They usually have great warm up acts too.
Perfect Circle is also totally worth it.
I will forever kick myself for not trying to see them in Tacoma in (i think) 2023. One of the greatest bands of all time, and pure fucking magic on psychedelics
Devin Townsend was without a doubt one of the best artists I’ve seen live last year. I limed his music for the longest time, and got tickets the day before the concert, and it was so damn good. It wasn’t anything fancy, just awesome interaction with the crowd and amazing music.
