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You know when you go see a band, not really expecting much - you HOPE for a good gig, but you don't expect it - and you find yourself standing there with your jaw on the floor thinking "wow"?
I saw Jack E McAuleys Poormouth at a pub in about 1995 and Placebo at a big venue in 2008 and left both gigs almost shell shocked. I remember for days and weeks afterwards thinking back to the gig and just being stunned. In a REALLY good way.
So, which bands have you seen and had a similar reaction?
Saw Corrosion of Conformity in the Concorde 2 in Brighton around 2006 (who were awesome), arrived just as the support band were starting. A band called Clutch, who just blew me away. Got an album the next day, loved it, and have seen them every time they've come over since.
Pulp @ Glastonbury '95, best band I've seen at an outdoor festi
Mad Caddies in Leeds a few years ago, the amount of passion & energy they gave off was incredible
Scissor Sisters - absolutely fantastic live
Mylo - hadn't really heard of him beyond a couple of tracks and didn't think it'd be much good live but again, live he's just brilliant.
Flogging Molly, so good saw them twice in one day, Reading Festival, wondered into a tent as they started their set and was so blown away went to see them again in a different tent the same night!!
Oh and i saw Them Crooked Vultures at the O2 Academy in Birmingham and thought they were awesome too
yeah, pulp at glastonbury. brilliant. better than any of their contemporaries at that moment for me.
Sultans of ping were bloody good though at somewhere.
These are all really interesting - some bands I have heard of, others I haven't.
As an aside, have you ever been to a gig 'under duress' - okay, maybe not quite, but ended up at a gig by accident and had a bloody fantastic time?
A friend of mine came to Sheffield to see the Pixies in 1990 (ish?) and the person she was meant to go with dropped out so she asked if I fancied it since I lived in Sheff. I said yes - I had heard some of their stuff and a free ticket is a free ticket.
It was amazing, another jaw dropper.
I also saw Black Crowes supporting The Dogs d'Amour and it was a case of the support blowing away the main act. Another surprise good gig.
Elbow open air at Delamere Forest - amazing.
Good shout on the clutch gigs, big fan of them here. Was impressed by the effort thrown in by the hives in Vancouver in 2003, an extra feature on an amazing trip. Qotsa in the Birmingham academy was pretty amazing too.
Of course these are all trumped by any half man half biscuit gig. Mazin.
Matt.
[b]Kevevs[/b] I saw the Sultans Of Ping in '91 @ Teeside Poly, from what I remember it was a good gig, mind you I don't remember much... 80p a pint 🙂
Also saw The Levellers @ Middlesbrough Town Hall in '91, another brilliant band live
A guy called Ben Prestage at the Flowerpot in Derby last year. One-man blues band from Florida, was supporting Ian Seigal but blew him away.
A bit like Seasick Steve but better in every way.
Dead kennedys, stiff little fingers, Aswad, Tenorsaw, motörhead, the clash, all good
As a complete opposite, despite really liking them (still!) St Etienne live were awful. I mean, they sang/played nicely but there was precisely zero atmosphere. There would have been more if I'd sat at home listening to their CDs.
Dragged to see Leonard Cohen in '75, Edinburgh Usher Hall, expecting to be bored to tears.Brilliant intimate performance, really felt like he was playing just for you.
Oh, I'd LOVE to have seen Dead Kennedys or The Ramones.
Ah, remembered another 'WFT' moment - The Macc Lads at the Limit. I had a really good time despite spending the night stood behind my 6 ft 4 mate Francis, desperately trying to avoid being dragged up on stage and all the horrors that went with that. (I was a VERY naive/shy 17 year old)
personally i put it down to expectation, build it up in your head too much and you're heading for disappointment and vice versa.
The Hamsters. Unbelievable guitar talent, Hendrix tribute. ZZ top tribute. Seen them several times in various locations.
That's true in so many things. Sometimes you reeeeally hope it's going to be good and it actually turns out to be good. It shouldn't shock you, but it does.
Talking Heads/D Byrne solo each and every time, Manu Chao at the Brixton Accademy in 06/07, Aswad at Carnival in 83 or 84, Lianne Caroll most times (ditto Sarah-Jane Morris and Gilad Atzmon) and Eddie Reader in a little pub backroom in Cambridge in about 96...........and we won't be talking about Joy Division, New Order, the Clash, Pigbag or the Jazz Warriors, nor the Grateful Dead, Little Feat, Little Axe,Bob Marley and the Wailers, Baaba Maal or Airto Moreira & Flora Purim.
[i]Dragged to see Leonard Cohen in '75, Edinburgh Usher Hall[/i]
wow. Love some of his stuff.
stevo48 is that the hamsters in Hull blue lamp mid 90's. quality!
Early in the stages of Biffy Clyro, awesome.
The Raconteurs, Jack White guitar genius.
How much of it do you think is down to the venue too?
I like the festival atmosphere (to an extent) and I like smaller venues, but I really don't get on with the stadium-type venue.
I saw one of my favourite bands at a stadium (Def Leppard, I am not too proud to admit it!) and it was bloody awful. As much as I love them and as good as they are live, it was one of the worst gigs I have ever been to.
Would LOVE to see Manu Chao, dekadanse.
To be honest, I'm not sure Kevevs.
TN I reckon you could be right, I saw the Raconteurs in Canada in an old cinema that now a music venue, and the Hamsters in pubs and small venues. Both make an awesome venue.
And I'm really sorry - I have just realised I've put this in the Bike forum when it is clearly nothing to do with bikes.
Ooops - that's what happens when you let a techie loose on a computer. 😉
I think the best gigs I've seen have mostly been Biffy Clyro but they never really surprised me- I saw them once and hated them, saw them again and wasn't too impressed, but by the third time I'd started liking their music more so it wasn't a shock when they turned out to be fantastic. Think they've lost some of that now but, well, if I was to make a top 10 gigs list it'd have at least 3 or 4 biffy shows.
Metallica at Milton Keynes Bowl, the Big Day Out... I was not expecting much at all, since they were well into their sucky phase, so after a long day, sunburnt and shattered I was just going to stand up the back and leave early to get the bus. Ended up running through the crowd and spent the entire show going nuts down the front. Just incredibly good from start to finish. I could barely walk at the end...
Oh and Regina Spektor at T in the Park. Still don't really know why I went to see her but what a set... I'm old and grumpy so I don't listen to new bands much, but she didn't give me much choice.
I saw Dead Kennedys at Leeds Uni in 83/84, but the wow gigs for me were The Cult at the Dortmunder Bar in Leeds in 84, just a few hundred round the stage and Ian Astbury interacted with the small croud really well. Also saw Crass at the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge in May 82, the band then served sandwiches to us that were staying on for the evening set, I was only about 15 and my first gig, so it was all a bit special.
The futureheads are always good.
The Prodigy at Brixton Academy, Jane's Addiction at Brixton Academy, PUSA at Brixton Academy, NIN at the O2. Bon Jovi at Wembley Arena in '88. Steve Curtis and Last Orders at the Arms (my local). All brilliant.
Loads of bands have made me go Wow but most recently have been blown away by Midlake and Oceansize.
Over the years, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Ozzy, Fishbone, Kings x (all in small venues have been awesome).
Special mention to Spiritualized, Arcade fire, Nick Cave and Elbow as well.
By the way Tn - Ramonez were pretty average when i saw them.
TN - venue definitely plays a big part, usually the smaller the better for me (Misfits @ CBGBs for Joey Ramone's posthumous birthday party was pretty damn special)
Although there is Mercury Rev, seen them 3 times at festivals and they're just perfect. Would love to see them in a small venue.
Seen The Specials twice since their reformation, Brixton Academy was amazing, great performance and friendly atmosphere (one of those gigs where you feel everyone's looking out for each other if you now what I mean?) but Brighton Centre was completely the opposite.
That wasn't in the Rickshaw was it? I saw High on Fire there and they were really, really good. Been to a few more gigs there which haven't quite measured up.I saw the Raconteurs in Canada in an old cinema that now a music venue
My real contribution to this thread is The Mars Volta though. Absolutely amazingly good live. Saw them in Brixton Academy and I was hanging right near front and centre waiting for them to come on when I got chatting to the guy next to me who proceeded to start passing me a very strong herbal cigarette.
That combined the mean that The Mars Volta's massive build up become so intense that I had to actually make my way out of the crowd pretty much as they were coming on stage!
Still, even from a giddy perch at the back it was an incredible, intense gig.
Crowded House at GMex, though I was only 13 at the time....
Saw this band six weeks ago. Truly amazing live experience and I've been to hundreds of gigs. Video doesn't catch the intensity, but so, so good.
Most recently, I have enjoyed the jim jones revue.
Historically, 808 state, trouble funk and de la soul all cut a mighty fine rug daddio
trish keenan from Broadcast has died 🙁
the view, absolutely awesome! And the twang
Muse - Nottingham Arena about 6-7 years ago. Listened to them a bit before and never my favourite band in the world, but what a show.
Razorlight - whatever you think of Johnny Borell, he is awesome live - way better than the recorded stuff.
Went to see Embrace a million years ago at Nottingham Rock City - really liked them before the gig anyway (grown out of them now) and they were very good, however Gomez (unheard of at the time) were supporting and we were inspired to buy their album. A couple of years later they won the Mercury - they then brought out a load of shite and are now unheard of again.
Kings of Leon, Glastonbury 2008. I'd heard of them never really been into them, never been to a festival. It was pretty much the first thing I saw of the weekend, it got dark we wandered down, I realised at that point I was going to have a great weekend and that I knew a lot of their songs. A band on a stage seizing the moment. Awesome.
I was at that gig, it was awesome, especialy the instrumental/jam session thing near the end.Saw Corrosion of Conformity in the Concorde 2 in Brighton around 2006
Most recently it was Faithless at the o2 in december, didn know much about them and not a dance music fan but wow, absoloutley incredible; so much energy from the band and crowd. Definatley going to go again if the opportunity arises.
^ Funnily enough, Faithless was the most dismal gig I have ever been to. I like some of their songs, but felt they were going through the motions. Worse though was the crowd - it was at some shed in Birmingham, and as virtually everyone down the front was too busy taking pictures/videos with their phones there was no dancing! Idiots.
Madness at Dalby Forest - I thought, "wow they were great". A balmy summer night in the forest with a mental crowd and a band who knew how to work 'em.
Pogues at the MEN - I thought, "wow, that was shit", and walked out early to avoid the rush. Poor old Shane was sozzled and had to go offstage every other song, then he'd come back on and start falling about and gargling incomrehensibly into the mike.
I'm really enjoying reading about all your experiences - some interesting surprises there.
I can't remember who wrote it (sorry) but the Misfits @ CBGBs sounds fantastic.
One band I've never seen and wish I had was Metallica. Can't bring myself to go now 'cos if I didn't enjoy it, it'd really spoil them for me. (yeah, I know. Weird...)
RUSH (am seeing them on may 22nd for their time machine tour.cannot wait) they are phenomenally awesome live.also love the manic street preachers (saw them in november at bristol coulston hall.fantastic band!) have also seen marillion and jethro tull both great live bands as well. 😀 p.s was expecting those bands to be great though (haven't seen many other bands live for a long time)