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1990 I think, took a prospective girlfriend to see Heart, she really wanted to see them. Me not that bothered.
Support band were Thunder. I’d heard of them in the pages of Kerrang, but the time being the time it wasn’t instantly available as music is now. Thunder were absolutely bloody amazing.
To be honest, Heart were magnificent too.
The girlfriend never worked out. Shame, but at least the gig was good.
Not sure whether this is valid, as it doesn't fit the 'thought it would be rubbish, wasn't' narrative.
Pulp headlining Glastonbury in 95, replacing Stone Roses. I was a fan of both, but really wanted to see Stone Roses; nonetheless expected Pulp to be good in their place.
Ho
Lee
Shit
- absolutely amazing experience. If not the best gig ever certainly top 3 (Pixies, 1989 and Sugarcubes 1988 since you asked) - and I far prefer little venues than stadium / festival types.
They may be much maligned, (not helped by briefly having a Nonce in the band) and the butt of many a joke but ManOwar were bloody fantastic when I saw them in Brum a few years back.
Had a long running deal with a mate (who was a Manowar superfan) that we'd go see them if they ever played in the UK, he passed away from cancer before they did but I thought I'd keep up my side of the bargain.
No word of a lie they were fantastic, full commitment from start to finish, banger after banger, almost justifies all the cringeworthy hyperbole in their lyrics.
DEATH TO FALSE METAL \m/
The Magic Numbers at a corporate gig at the little venue inside the O2.
Even though we were shitfaced on free booze they were exceptionally good. Dunno if they were always like that or putting in a special effort as it was an industry thing?
Mrs 100th really enjoyed Sophie Ellis Better last night in Newcastle.
Alabama 3. Some time in the mid to late 90s at Glastonbury. Was wondering past the Other stage around midday. They were absolutely smashing it.
This was before the sopranos.
From the other thread
The gold standard
At the Drive-In on Jools Holland
So bad it’s good
This is amongst the finest live tv performances I’ve ever seen. When I watched it live as a teenager it absolutely captivated me.
Amy Winehouse - it was a bit of gamble on the tickets as we thought she just wouldn't show up. She was nearly an hour late and clearly a bit wasted, but my god that voice was something else, just incredible
This is amongst the finest live tv performances I’ve ever seen. When I watched it live as a teenager it absolutely captivated me.
It is great, isn't it?
Pulp headlining Glastonbury in 95
Yeah I saw them at the free (yep, nothing) Heineken Festival in Leeds Roundhay Park in the same year (where ironically they ran out of Heineken at the beer tents). I already liked them since Intro came out but wasn't sure what to expect but they were great. They were equally amazing in 2012 when they did a 'homecoming' gig in Sheffield. He has such charisma.
But that Heineken festival - what a line up for a free festival...
(PWEI were great too)
The Wurzels.
Many years ago. Not my kind of music at all, and just a bunch of old blokes,well past their prime, one of whom had even died and been replaced.
But after 40yrs on the scene they know how to entertain a crowd! And that's what it's all about really isn't it? The music is somewhat secondary, just make sure the audience have a great time and they were the masters at that.
I saw the Wurzels at university, excellent.
Technically, I saw part of their set. To ruralify the union bar someone had procured some hay bales and strung some swedes and turnips from the celing. Like conkers.
A swede 'conkered' into your head while watching the Wurzels doesn't not greatly enhance the gig going experience. I think were it not for the anaesthetic effect of several pints of 'authentic for the occasion' scrumpy I'd still be feeling it now.
Not a fan of them recorded, but saw Elbow at Wembley as a friend couldn't go, brilliant live performers and he really has an amazing voice and holds the crowd.
Others a Foo Fighters and Killers, again not huge fans of their music, although i love Dave Grohl as a person, but both bands really do the sort of performance that holds a big festival crowd, where other bands look a bit lost when the crowd is that big.
This is going to be controversial as many folk (including me) have this fella down as worst ever gig but ... Ian Brown in Melbourne in 2008/9. On key, in tune, played Rose's songs, jumped into the crowd and took photos on people's phones with him and them. Incredibly different from any gig of his up till then. In a place called the Hi Fi bar I think. Cracking venue too.
Sometime back in the early seventies, when we were still mods, a bunch of us went to a soul night at a venue in Halifax. However, we got the day wrong and ended up at a Sweet gig. They should have been everything we hated, but they were really, really good. Couldn't dance to them, though.
There was a Pink Floyd tribute band in Doncaster called Farm who I saw at the Top Rank in about 1970. They were surprisingly good. Oh and my mate lost his virginity behind the sheds in Donny market that night, lucky sod. I didn't.
Then Bert Weedon at Sheffield Uni Rag Ball.
Much more recently Muffin Man, Zappa tribute band.
This is amongst the finest live tv performances I’ve ever seen. When I watched it live as a teenager it absolutely captivated me.
It is great, isn’t it?
Now I'm really, really old but I liked that too. Can't beat a bit of musical anarchy, which may explain my love of much contemporary classical music.
And You Will Know Us By The Trail of The Dead at Koko's in London mid 2000's. Zero expectations, great gig. Barnstorming I think is the word and huge fun. Still got the t-shirt.
The Duke Spirit supporting someone (precisely who I forget). I had never heard of them before the gig but they were awesome, proper rock band and Leila Moss is just brilliant. Saw them loads after that all across London. Still really love their first album.
I saw Billy Bragg support the Style Council and Billy was much better.
Sleeper at Carlton studios and Hole and therapy ('92/93?) in Glasgow but only because we went on the piss with them after Courtney took no prisoners.
Then ended up with Andy cairns from therapy in a backstage bar at reading festival which wrote off my weekend.
Maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise, because he was clearly massively talented, but i went to see George Michael (only because my wife was a massive fan) on what turned out to be one of his last concerts. Really quite amazing and all seemed completely effortless.
INXS in Sheffield, supported by Alisha’s Attic. Beyond surprised.
another big up for the proclaimers here, amazing gig at fort william. I thought they would be good but they excelled.
another standout was Erasure at some sports hall in bedford. Wasnt sure what to expect but Mind blowing really, there was an electrical problem but he just carried on singing anyway, superb skills and ability.
Lastly I saw justin currie from del amitry in inverness once, he was doing a gig with mull historical society and eddie reeder. She was bobbins to be frank, mull historical was brilliant but justin currie was flippin epic! He had obviously practiced in his bedroom to nail all the moves but he totally tipped eddie reeder into a cocked hat! It was embarrassing!
I'm not sure whether it really counts as "surprisingly" good, but I saw the Dave Rawlings Machine supporting Old Crow Medicine show in Leeds which was utterly amazing. We saw them sort of by accident, a mate of mine had a couple of spare tickets so we went along knowing Gillian Welch, but not much else; and it ended up being possibly the best gig I've ever been to. Just an incredible atmosphere.
Similarly, the same mate took me to see Pharaoh Overlord in this terrible club in Bradford, which I went into not really knowing what to expect. It turned out to be mesmerising: their songs are all long instrumentals, and as they played they very slowly formed these kind of "rock star" tableaux onstage -- you kind of started off with everyone just stood there, and by the end the bassist would be crouched down with his bass like a rifle, flanked by two guitarists with their feet on monitor speakers. That sort of thing. It sounds bonkers, and it was, but it was also totally awesome.
Good times 🙂
And You Will Know Us By The Trail of The Dead at Koko’s in London mid 2000’s. Zero expectations, great gig. Barnstorming I think is the word and huge fun. Still got the t-shirt.
they were the band i immediately thought of when i read the title. went to see them at the boat club in nottingham, didnt know what they looked like, cant remember if we'd even heard any of their songs at that point.
wow, they blew us away! loud, fast, plenty of feedback, drummer and singer swapping places all the time, guitarist rolling about on the floor, you just couldnt take your eyes off them. we were stood on a table near the back, and at one point after the singer had jumped into the crowd, we wondered why everyone was looking our way. he was under our table singing.
they then smashed their equipment up and chucked it in the crowd. well, thats the end of that we thought. nope, bit by bit as the guitarist faced the speaker stack producing a load of feedback, the drums were recovered, guitars replaced and then they carried on. when it had eventually finished, they piled outside and sang a few acoustic songs by the trent. magical night.
tbh i get a bit bored with their albums, but live they cant be beat.
and talking of nottingham, another band that blew me away were Six by Seven. again, hadnt seen any pics, didnt know what they looked like, maybe just heard one song. saw them in a smallish pub type place and they were superb. atmospheric slow building, brooding, ending songs with walls of sound, hypnotic drumming, strobes and dry ice. followed them ever since, and theyve always been 'our band' since that night. deserved more acclaim than they got.
finally, theres only one other band i can think of that were way better than i expected, and thats the murder capital. heard a few songs on 6 music a few years back now and they were being mentioned in the same circles as Idles and fontaines DC, but i considered them to be a 'poor mans version' of those bands, not as exciting. that was until i saw them at rescue rooms in nottingham. had nobody to go with, billy no mates and nearly didnt go, i was so pleased i did. maybe not as exciting live as Idles, but i think theyre better musically. the songs were just perfectly performed, really soaring, sweeping guitar sounds, and james has a beautiful voice. at the end of it as we all walked out you could just feel the crowd had witnessed something special.
Prodigy- Invaders must die tour
Everything was awesome, kissy sellout as warm up was banging, Dizzy Rascal was good then Prodigy came on and were just another level.
To this day the best sound system ever at a gig, you could feel the bass (and see it vibrating sign on the handrails) and no ear ringing next day.
Saw Jimmy Somerville a few years ago at the after party for a film premiere. He must have been well into his 50s then, but his voice was incredible.
And You Will Know Us By The Trail of The Dead at Koko’s in London mid 2000’s
I was there! And it wasn’t a surprise, absolutely loved Madonna by trail of dead. which I’m pretty sure I discovered after the turning point in my music taste of seeing at the drive-in on Jools. I vividly remember marching to the rock box in Camberley (RIP) and buying relationship of command the Saturday morning after jools. It can’t have been much later I picked up Madonna by trail of dead there.
Kula Shaker at Glastonbury in '99. We'd started watching REM, and were underwhelmed, so popped across. They were really, really good.
Here in Sheffield, I went to see a friend play in what was the National Centre for Popular Music. There was a Canadian chap, Jim White, headlining. It was just him, his guitar and a couple of loop and effect pedals. He was absolutely bloody amazing. Extremely charismatic, and very, very talented.
I really wished I had seen these guys live….
Er, saw the Beastie Boys in Manchester with Run DMC sometime in the ‘80’s and should be in the other thread as was a surprisingly miserable experience and left early. Sorry, Monkeysfeet. On the other hand the Clash at Bristol Locarno 1982 was just fantastic, amazing energy and vibe and tops my list closely followed by Iggy with Steve Jones, Nottingham and Violet Femmes, Leeds both in the ‘80s and James in Exeter in early ‘90s - again giving their all and really connecting with the crowd. Elbow at the Eden Project a few years back was just lovely, amazing location for that one.
The Proclaimers at the Big Session in Leicester many years ago. I'm Scottish by-the-way but always thought of them as a novelty act but they put on a bloody good gig- they even had groupies in the front row in basques and tartan minis- this may have swayed my opinion somewhat! I'll never buy any of their albums but would go and see them live again.
I generally don't watch bands that I think will be shite. But...
The Fall. I expected them to be shite, because I had already seen them once, in 1999, and they were absolutely pathetic. It was embarrassing. But they played in the pub I worked at in Manchester a couple of years later, and they were really good! Mark E Smith was capable not only of speech, but also standing upright, and spent most of the gig actually on stage!
Lady Gaga, saw her at a festival mostly because I'd just finished spewing my guts up behind a tree and she was bloody brilliant.
And another +1 for Wheatus, saw them at Camden Rocks and they were fully aware that most of the crowd was only there for Teenage Dirtbag or because they'd got in early for Frank Turner, but they shrugged it off.
The Pet Shop Boys headlined a local festival, and they were really really good.
Many years ago a friend got us tickets to see Mark Cohan. I think he was only known for walking in Memphis at that time. Support was Tori Amos. Never have I seen one bloke pick up an audience by the scruff of the neck and hold them up for the entire show then leave, letting them down gently as they sang his songs back to him. Definitely an example of entertainment as opposed to just the ability to play yer songs live.
I really wished I had seen these guys live….
Retry sure I saw them at Glastonbury one year.
Years ago at Uni an Irish mate had some friends coming to visit and they were going to see The Saw Doctors so I went along. Bloody hell they were good, I mean the songs are a bit naff and they were hardly cool but when a band just throws themselves at it and are having a great time themselves it makes such a difference.
Wet wet wet in Brum in the early nineties were excellent.
Following the news this morning of the death of Taylor Hawkins, from Foo Fighters, I am reminded of a particularly good live performance from them
I'm not sure if the year, maybe 2006 they played at Hyde Park and the fig was incredible. The sun, the atmosphere, the opener In Your Honour then into All my Life, and then the encore with Brian May and Roger Taylor, motorhead supporting. Hell of a gig. Dave Grohl had the crowd wrapped round his finger and was every bit the front man at the top of his game.
Back on topic to lesser expectations, I saw White Lies in Bristol years ago and hadn't heard any of their music beforehand. Went in bit knowing what to expect and they played a blinder, their music sounded amazing in the venue and really couldn't get there track 'Death' out of my head for weeks.
Bearded Theory in 2009 when the main stage got properly wrecked by a tornado - the festival continued the next day in the beer tent - Goldblade were absolutely on it!
Linkin Park at Perth's sadly departed Soundwave Festival. Always liked the music but was pretty convinced they wouldn't be able to pull it off live. They where incredible.
The Darkness at Reading the year they blew up. Daytime slot and they absolutely owned the crowd.
Backyard babies in a co-headliner with the Wildhearts (RIP). Wasnt expecting much, was so impressed went home after gig and checked their back catalogue out for days. Seriously good live, loads of effort given.
Took mrs Marone to see Robbie Williams once, was expecting him to be shite. Would gladly go watch him vo!untarily, consumate showman, cracking show.
Elvana were fantastic live too, cant wait to go see em again next month.
Also Henry Rollins when he opened for RHCP a million years ago (1990?) . Blew em clean off the stage.
RHCP were, conversely, the absolute most overhyped live band I ever saw. They looked bored and simply couldnt be bothered , too interested in having cliquey little in jokes with themselves onstage.
As an aside, happened across an awesome recording of a Rocket From the Crypt show at Alexs Bar on youtube this week, cant stop playing it , its really rekindled my love for them. Fantastic show.
Magic Numbers.
They rocked out quite hard at the barrowlands, wasn't my choice to go wasn't nearly as dull as i thought it would be.
Years and years ago, Saxon. They were a bit of a joke then, but live, they were brilliant. Seen them many times since,and they are still great in their 60's.
Last week, Morganway, a new(ish) Country rock band.In front of maybe 50 people in a 200 capacity room. The first 2 tracks got me feeling it could be an early night (they werent poor, just that I thought I was in Alabama!), but they then warmed up and track 3 onward was exceptional, we'll be going to see them again whenever they are local.
Alison Moyet. I'm more of a rock fan, but thought it would be nice to see her. God, she was brilliant, and have seen her since, just as good.
Bon jovi, something like 2006 or so in glasgow Hampden.
I was expecting a load of burned out rockers going through the motions.
Not a bit of it, they were excellent.
Elbow managed to make a stadium feel like a small gig
Guy has that sort of personality, plus they’re an outstanding band. I’ve seen them at the O2 Academy in Bristol, Bristol Beacon, formerly Colston Hall, The O2 Arena and Hammersmith Apollo, and Guy manages to make a 250 capacity venue seem like a stadium, and vice versa.
I was at the Isle Of Wight Festival a few years back, right at the front on all three days*, so saw pretty much everything that was on. I wasn’t expecting much from James, never really my sort of band, but I was amazed by just how good they are live, and by how many of their songs I actually knew.
* A friend of mine contacted me, to say she’d just seen me on telly! She was watching it and spotted me at the front, I hadn’t realised it was being shown, but she’d taken a photo of the screen and sent it to me, and there I was! I’d bought a cheap straw Stetson-type hat, and wrapped a day-glo orange bandana around it as a hat band, and I then kept spotting it in all sorts of shots when I watched it myself later on. Only time I’ve ever seen myself on a tv broadcast. 😎
Anyone else seen themselves on a live gig broadcast?
