I wouldn’t pay silly money to see anyone “big” anywhere “big”.
I’d pay silly money for a magic Time Machine to see any of the big bands I like in a tiny venue, at the time they release their debut album, in one of the many great, small, gig venues that have been closed down. I’d start with interpol at the Astoria in 2003
No one. Seen all the ones I liked in my younger years. Happy to see local music now
A mate and I had this conversation earlier today and we agreed on The Sundays, if of course they re-formed. I’m not sure I’d pay three hundred quid for the privilege however.
I reckon I’d pay £1000 to see ac/dc, but only with bon scott, which i guess is unlikely to happen.
Yeh a tad unlikely given he's been dead 44 years.
Silly money (£100+?) - my favourite band in the whole wide world is the Cult and they're doing a UK tour later this year and they're actually playing my hometown York but we're away for it. Same week they're playing Bristol and I'm seriously considering driving from Bude where we'll be, to Exeter/Plymouth and then getting a train to Bristol to see them and then doing the same in reverse. Well over £100 if I factor in train tickets...
Second favourite band in the world is the Toadies but they never/rarely play outside of Texas anymore so the chances of me ever seeing them live is slim unless I decided to hop on a transatlantic flight to do it, something I have considered...
Nobody else - lots of my favourite bands tend to play in small venues now where tickets are £20. I've grown to really dislike massive stadium gigs...
The who – but the who of the 70s not now
I always regretted never seeing them
I got to see them at Glastonbury in 2015 and got almost to the very front 🙂
all excited after watching the River plate gig on youtube.
The River Plate gig is the ONE gig I've ever seen on screen and its made me yearn to be there. Looked absolutely immense (BTW, I might have been at the same Hampden gig - the last one they did there before Brian got signed off, must have been about 10 years back???)
Hit the limit of what I was prepared to pay when we went to Foo Fighters in Manchester, that was £85 each and I didn’t actually really enjoy it anyway
Was about to say that’s just inflation, the last Arena ‘big’ band I remember was Black Sabbath at the NEC. A quick google suggests £18.50, with inflation that’s £42 ish.
Patty Smyth - the only person I've not seen that I would like to
Queen but only with the proper line up. I wouldnt pay to see the current version
If the rules are now and no resurrection / back in their prime, I can't think of anyone. I'm with Desp Bike and SDB, I'd far rather see a new / up and coming band and support them and a local venue.
The two I had chance to see and didn't, in their prime, and will now go to my grave regretting are:
The Smiths (had tickets, gig was rearranged, couldn't make the rearranged gig, split up after.....so not only did I miss seeing them I missed their last gig - http://www.passionsjustlikemine.com/live/smiths-g861212.htm )
- and as Morrissey's a **** and Andy Rourke is dead even a reformation ain't going to cut it.
and
The Cure (was at Glastonbury, didn't even see someone else, had been caning it all weekend on the Cider and WAS JUST TOO TIRED to see them play. I know I've still got the chance but this was prime Cure, and while Fat Bob still has it, it ain't 1995)
And the absolute one I'd have wanted beyond any others would be Joy Division. But I was only 10 at the time.
I'd pay quite a lot to see Sparklehorse again, but that'd be because it would mean Mark Linkous was alive.
I'd certainly give it some thought if Dire Straits reformed, but given their age now and how different the band was at various stages of its life that wouldn't be an unconditional thing I think.
I think if you paid much for mark knopfler yo might be a bit disappointed, saw him a few years ago at the secc Glasgow and played maybe one Dire Straits track with his folky mates
Crappy venue with so many folk walking constantly to the bar maybe a bit bored too
No chance of an encore and back out still daylight at 9.30 pm
Saw Neil young & crazy horse at London O2 for £120... Really good spot too.. Right near the front, but off to the side looking down on a sound desk...
Shame the acoustics in the o2 dome are utter gargabe though
That was going back 11years though... Dread to think what something similar would cost now.
redmex Free Member
I think if you paid much for mark knopfler yo might be a bit disappointed, saw him a few years ago at the secc Glasgow and played maybe one Dire Straits track with his folky mates
I don't mind Mark Knopfler's solo output and actually I saw him at the SECC 15 years ago on his Get Lucky tour, but it definitely wasn't the same as seeing Dire Straits. I'm just a little too young to have seen them live, but way too young to have seen them on the early tours. I think I'd most liked to have seen them touring when they were a 4 piece, of the live tracks I've heard of theirs, the early stuff is what I've enjoyed the most - though Alchemy is great too. On the Night? Not so much.
My Bloody Valentine.
Saw them a couple of times BITD and a couple of times after they reformed in 2008-ish.
They were really good each time and I reckon they'd still be amazing now.
Weirdly, I have no desire to see them again though.
If we aren't allowing resurrection, Stevie Wonder. I had tickets for a gig of his back in 2009, but had an emergency back operation about 2 weeks before and had to give the tickets away for free. Heard him about 5 years later when holidaying in the South of France and he did an outdoor gig about 400 metres from my hotel.
If resurrection are allowed ... The Doors, Queen, The Beatles.
I've been lucky enough to have seen most of my "contemporary" bands through the years ... often in great, small venues
Mine would be Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 1990's line up playing songs from Tender Prey, Henry's Dream, Let Love In, Murder Ballads albums.
I still buy the new albums as they are released but have struggled to get into most of the recent ones. My attention span has declined as the albums contain less traditional songs with verses and chorus.
Seeing them play classic stuff would be amazing. As it is a wish list I want Grinderman to open and for PJ and Kylie to come on stage for their Murder Ballad duets. Shame that Shane McGowan has passed away as I would have had him singing too.
I'd love to get to see REM again. They were still brilliant live when they called it a day. I don't think it's out of the question that they'll have another go at it as they all seem to get on and pop up in each others current projects occasionally.
Maybe the Led Zeppelin reunion concert, but having seen some of the footage, nah, too self-indulgent.
These days, no one springs to mind, and since lock down I don't do crowds.
The KLF
but has to be full on stadium rave, not machine guns dead sheep and napalm death (could be the encore)
Martyn Ashton Live...
Hang I see this every Tuesday.
So nobody really.
Saw Ramones for about £20 in the early 90s.
One of the best gigs I've been to. Iggy & the Stooges were better, but not by much.
Beastie Boys.
Without MCA though?
50+ years of gig-going means I’ve seen a great many bands and artists, but there are many I missed for a variety of reasons. I finally got to see King Crimson in 2019, I missed seeing REM in Newport, but of those artists who I’ve not had a chance to see, and are still alive, Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell are the two I’d happily pay whatever the price is for tickets.
Ticketmaster need to be brought under control, this ‘variable pricing’ bullshit is absolutely unacceptable, and their booking system is complete garbage. I’ll always try to use an alternative agency for booking, like See Tickets, Gigantic, or AGV, the O2’s agency.
Thing is, even small venues are having to charge higher prices now, because artists aren’t making money, it’s not unusual to be paying £30-odd for tickets for a lesser known artist in a small venue now, or artists who aren’t exactly mainstream, like Laura Marling, who’s playing a few dates in a couple of venues, as she’s now a mum, and touring isn’t an option, and the tickets are £45, Fairground Attraction are playing Bristol Beacon, tickets are £65, Gemma Hayes, who I’ve been following for pretty much her whole career, is playing Bristol Strange Brew, but her tickets are only £18.50, she doesn’t need a tour bus and a large crew though.
Opeth at Bristol Beacon tickets are £47.50, and Wardruna at the same venue are £45, which I think are reasonable. Oh, and I’m seeing Steve Hackett at Bristol Beacon in October, doing highlights from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, plus other Genesis and solo stuff, my ticket was £51.75.
I will pay quite a lot for certain artists who record and tour infrequently, like Peter Gabriel and Tool, and Kate Bush, who I paid £145 for a ticket, I actually bought three tickets, but that’s my own cost. The show was extraordinary, worth every penny, and it’s unlikely she’ll ever perform again. I also had front row centre seats, by sheer luck.
Taken after the main set.
The White Stripes, but no more than £100, that is silly money to me.
I have always been disappointed by the bands/artists I have seen who are beyond their sell by dates. James Brown was the biggest disappointment, I would have loved to see him in his heydey but by 2005 it was the backing singers doing all the heavy lifting and he was just an old man on stage. I saw the who at around that time as well and they were also disappointing.
It was with those memories that I avoided the stone roses and the specials reunion tours, I had seen the stone roses a few times back in the day, the specials I would have loved to have seen, but decided I would rather keep the good memories in my head rather than ruin them with reality.
So I think it would need to be someone current to get me to spend big, and non of the big acts really do it for me currently.
It bloody is!
Depends on the artist, and the venue. I’m sure there’s loads where the tickets are a tenner or so, but whether they’re people I’d actually want to pay to see is another matter entirely.
Speaking, as we were, of Sparklehorse, I’d forgotten I’d seen them twice at The Fleece, first time in ‘98, supported by someone called The Paradise Motel, who seem to have vanished into obscurity, the second time supported by Gemma Hayes, who, thankfully hasn’t.
For any Sparklehorse fans who might be interested, here’s the setlist for each gig, and Gemma’s rather brief one, written on the back of a large envelope!
Just checked The Paradise Motel, and they released six albums, last one in 2013. They’re Australian, they relocated to the U.K. in ‘98/99, disbanded in 2000, and reformed in 2008. Nothing else since. Got to download some of their stuff now, see if I can remember what they were like!
"lesser known artist in a small venue" is what I based my answer on.
I honestly can't think of any 'bucket list' bands that are a) mostly still alive and b) I haven't already seen. With a time machine there's plenty, Queen jumps immediately to mind.
There's quite a few I'd like to see live but haven't yet, but nothing that I'd pay three figures for unless it was part of a larger event. I'd love to see The Pretty Reckless, but not at prices where they're a supporting act for AC/DC. On a triple headliner bill with Halestorm and Paramore, perhaps.
The Smiths like some others have mentioned
AC/DC with the full line-up in their prime. First half with Bon Scott, second with Brian!
TBF that would be pretty cool – Bon Scott to sing 'Highway to Hell' as his final song, then Brian Johnson open with 'Hell's Bells'
CountZero Full Member
Speaking, as we were, of Sparklehorse, I’d forgotten I’d seen them twice at The Fleece, first time in ‘98, supported by someone called The Paradise Motel, who seem to have vanished into obscurity, the second time supported by Gemma Hayes, who, thankfully hasn’t.
For any Sparklehorse fans who might be interested, here’s the setlist for each gig, and Gemma’s rather brief one, written on the back of a large envelope!
I was at that gig in '98! It was pretty much the thing that kicked off me going to see live music. Thanks so much for sharing!
That setlist is interesting, not least because it doesn't quite line up with my memories. I remember Mark getting pretty hammered on stage. He seemed to be barely able to stand except when he had a guitar in his hands, but generally when he was in front of the mic he seemed relatively fine. However he abandoned Hundreds of Sparrows with a bunch of slurred apologies, then launched into Pig instead and seemed to manage it perfectly fine. What confuses me is that I remember him having played Pig before that point in the evening already, so the second rendition of it was like an apology for messing up Hundreds of Sparrows.
Maybe in my memory, or in my relative unfamiliarity at the time of Good Morning Spider's songs I'm mixing up one of the other heavily distorted songs with Pig, maybe Cruel Sun? It is however 26 years ago now so while the memories are cherished they are somewhat dim!
I also remember that Mark did some weird sound collage things between some songs, which aren't in the setlist above, like the odd short tracks from Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. And during one of them he managed to break the tape machine he was using to make some of the sounds. A friend who was also at the gig (in a better position than I was I guess) said he saw metres of tape coming out of the machine in Mark's hands, while the other guitarist (Jonathan Segel?) rolled his eyes at the mess...
I watched Manic Street Preachers in a small hall in San Francisco for free when nobody had heard of them over there. Was just handed a ticket in the street by the local radio station. It was excellent and only about 200 people. The week before they’d sold out Cardiff stadium.
Oasis tickets compare with rugby at Twickenham or F1 at Silverstone. The Monza GP tickets are 320 euros and it’s all over in 80 minutes.
I think the most I've ever paid for a standalone show was £100, which was Muse at the Albert Hall at the point where they'd started playing stadiums (and by luck was just before Muse went shit), plus travel costs from Scotland. Totally worth it.
It's travel that kills me, I'm off to London to see Biffy Clyro playing their first album and the cost of the ticket's going to be like 20% of the cost of that, it'll be way more than a ticket for Oasis. But again it'll be worth it.
The Smiths like some others have mentioned
The question as posed is not 'in their prime' - rather reformed and on the road again. I can't imagine worse than seeing the most influential band of my youth with nobhead version Morrissey and ANOther on bass.
I've seen tribute Smiths (The Smyths, The Joneses) - the songs still stand up to scrutiny. I'd rather do that than 1/2 the original line up (Morrissey's not the same person any more)
Japanese band ‘Passcode’ still need to show up in Europe.
Not the same without Yuna sadly.
Marr’s concerts are great, often in smaller venues or at festivals, and cheap. No one needs a high ticket price Smiths semi-reunion.
Re. The Smiths: Johnny Marr really has no reason to reform the Smiths. And why would he? Instant cred kill!
I remember when the Velvet Underground reformed (early 90’s?). I was a mega Velvets fan early mid 80’s, I was buying all the boot lps I could lay my hands on. A mate really wanted to go but I wasn’t having any as i knew that I really wanted to see them as per 67-69, not some old numpties. Having seen the dvd of some the reunion show, man, definitely a bullet dodged there!
That said me na day mates hummed and heyed re going to see Buzzcocks (cheap at a small Aberdeen venue) in early 90’s (they were the first band I went to see in 78) but we weakened and went. It was pretty decent though, for what it was (but they definitely enjoyed playing). Even think Mike Joyce was the drummer…
If I was spending megabuck I’d want it to be someone on form right now.
I was sorely tempted to go see IU (Uaena til I die!), serious considered the Berlin gig but chickened out (never found out the cost of tickets either!) Just as well as me and my mate both had the jandies so wouldn’t have been able to travel. As it was her first Euro trip (she debuted 16-17 years ago) probably not likely she’ll be back in a hurry…
Other than that I’d say Blackpink (or possibly NewJeans but the CEO debacle puts me off). Course, you’d really need a lightstick…?
