[Closed] The appeal of 'gigs'

Head still reeling from 9BZ and Feelgood last night.
Small venues only for me.
And it's all about the bass.

Levellers tonight!
Much prefer smaller gigs, bigger isn't always better. Having said that, loved the couple of Donnington MOR I went to in '94 & '95. Such a buzz, getting sweaty in the mosh pit.

In my experience the less mainstream e acts, the better the experience as the crowd tend to be more passionate.

Think my best weekend of gigs ever was in '95 or '96, can't really remember which, probably due to e chemicals consumed. orbital in Sheffield Octagon one night and then got a call from a mate who had tickets to Rage Againt The Machine the next night in Manchester. Rather rough feeling coach journey and another great night.

Gary Glitter - live in Dundee '84. Needed to be live 😉

At the other end of the scale, watching an orchestra is completely different. Someone took me to see Elgars Enigma Variations recently and I was a bit reluctant as they are almost too familiar now. But live, nimrod takes on a different sensory experience.

There is a well-proven cure for GAS (Gig Avoidance Syndrome): Go and see Killing Joke perform. Get in amongst the melee and wonder why you never did before. GAS will be a thing of the past.

I agree somewhat with the op. Whats the point of the huge effort and cost to go and see a band when the music is badly mixed and the band don't move a muscle. eg Ryan Adams, better to stay at home....on the other hand when the band are really entertaining, sound high quality, small venues then it can be magical...stranglers, levellers,lucinda williams, black rebel motorcycle club....

gigs turned crap since the invention of smart phones!

The best gig I have been to is watching Mogwai perform right at the start of their career (touring just when Ten Rapid was released). They were touring with Arab Strap who decided to join them all for the last song of the night....each of them beating a drum to the yet to be released "Mogwai Fear Satan", which climaxed in a ten minute wall of sound.

The venue looked sparse with around only fifty people present but they played as if it there last ever show.

Maybe the OP just hasn't yet been to an inspiring gig. Only advice I could offer is to persevere.

THM live classical music can literally move me to tears. A truly fabulous experience.

I regret that I haven't the funds to see more of it. As mentioned above both Jules Holland and Bruce Springsteen are terrific live. Seeing Bruce and the E Street band do a gig based on audience requests at the Emirates was fabulous.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers were a sterile disappointment, music good but no real audience engagement.

waihiboy - Member
gigs turned crap since the invention of smart phones!

Nah, the audiences are a bit more irritating and inconsiderate, but gigs are still great.

[i]Red Hot Chilli Peppers were a sterile disappointment[/i]
RHCP were brilliant when I saw them. But it was in 1987.

just like listening to the CD, record etc. Rolling Stones and [b]Guns N Roses[/b] were a bit like that.

Cos when someone's chatting about music, you can be that person that pipes up "yeah, I've seen them live" zzzzzzzzz

Just saw The Specials. You'd have to be dead inside to not enjoy that gig 😀

Seen great pub gigs where the band obviously enjoy themselves. NEVER been to a stadium gig. Never will. Its obvious.

Some bands - its like a job and it showed. Others- Sugarcubes (Bjork) at the Academy - loved it whilst AFI at the Academy seemed tired. Rammstein - another level. Felt like they thrived on performing. 🙂

Gaz Coombes was playing in the back room of my local last night. 250 people packed in for a great show. He came and had a couple of beers with us after closing time. Great night... I love gigs me.

I love live music.Like loads of the previous posters I have seen an awful lot.
Don't care about the genre , as long as it sounds good.Although tbh I haven't seen that many gigs by brass bands. 🙂
Small venue is the key - for me never bigger than Brixton.
Stadiums suck.
When I was laa'l , We would huddle down the front , getting excited about the roadies checking the equipment, catching a glimpse of Billy Duffy's Gretsch white falcon would put us in ecstasy! Then that moment your hero(s) appeared was brilliant. I still have to be there to watch the first song and always clock the gear.nerd.
When a gig is good it's really uplifting - afterwards you seem to bounce home. ( like raveydavey ,I've flown home too 😉 )
I don't get to many gigs these days but when I do it's an event.

Love going to see live music, I have one caveat, the size of the Venue, Brixton Academy is the biggest I would go. After that if just goes a bit wrong.

You dont get to see this in your living room when playing the albums 😆

[img] [/img]

God I hate the Meteors, the nastiest midget led bunch of cockwombles I have ever had the misfortune to see. That utter jizzgargler Fenech aaarrrrggghhhh 🙁 really like a lot of Psychobilly stuff but not them.

I used to go to see shedloads of bands years ago, mainly thrash metal / hardcore and indie, until I discovered techno & trance in the early 90s. After so many all night dance music parties, I must say I've lost a bit of my appetite for "proper" gigs.
Don't get me wrong, I've seen some amazing performances since then (Shpongle, Gong, The Damned, UK Subs, Soulfly, Elbow, The Divine Comedy, The Misfits, Feeder, The Family Mahone - to name a few that spring to mind), but I get irritated by the waiting between acts, the going off and coming back on malarkey and how long it takes for the crowd to warm up, plus the sea of phones filming the whole show. I still enjoy live bands - at smaller gigs and festivals, but I feel like I don't quite know what to do anymore - I'm used to just turning up at a place where the music is already thumping and people are dancing straight away.

donks - Member
Gaz Coombes was playing in the back room of my local last night. 250 people packed in for a great show. He came and had a couple of beers with us after closing time. Great night... I love gigs me.
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST

His new stuff is great!

[i]I don't get to many gigs these days but when I do it's an event[/i]

Why the hell not? Get out there boy!

[i]God I hate the Meteors[/i]

Past-tense, surely?? Not still going are they? Have no idea who they are or their names, just danced to em 🙂

Last night I saw Imelda May (again) in a beautiful Listed theatre and what a stonking performance she and her band put on. 8)

Support act were great, really punky and reminded me of The Hives. Have already checked out where they're playing and hope to see them in the New Year.

Got another gig tomorrow where I shall enjoy (again) some guitar playing. 😀

jimjam - Member
[img] [/img]

"come see my laptop" ... 😆 This is absolutely hilarious and now I can stay happy the entire day.

Look at those people inside the tent! Look at them! What are they doing? What are they looking at? The bloke with laptop!!! I bet these people are zombies. 😆

Do they still need a laptop nowadays? I thought iPad or the like would do so long as the bandwidth is good for streaming?

Or should someone say "come listen to my bandwidth"?" 😆

Didn't even think that picture was worth commenting on chewkw.

DezB - Member

Didn't even think that picture was worth commenting on chewkw.

It's just too funny and the pic makes up for my dull day ...

Just got early release tickets for Foos in Sunderland next May. I will report back but suspect it will be the awesome, feeling the music resonate through your chest is not reproducible at home 🙂

Saw the slaves last week at the local venue the craufurd arms in Wolverton about 30 seconds from my house. It holds no more than 300 people, they were superb and very amusing. Really funny lads with quite a unique performance. Again met with them in the bar afterwards and had a laugh. I reckon I go pretty much every week to see stuff there, good or bad it doesn't really bother me I just enjoy the place and people and with it being so small the bands generally mingle in the bar before and afterwards. Some nights it's rammed and others there's maybe 10 people in (including the band) and sometimes I quite like that especially when they're actually quite good as you can just stand a few feet away and just watch without peering over shoulders.

feeling the music resonate through your chest is not reproducible at home

Indeed. Not if you have neighbours anyway!

franki - Member

Shpongle, Gong, The Damned, UK Subs, Soulfly, Elbow, The Divine Comedy, The Misfits, Feeder, The Family Mahone

You probably cause automatic recommendations lists on ticket websites to catch fire. "You liked this, so you'll probably like, wait, wut?"

I know the "real music" lovers find the laptop performance photo hilarious - and there are some "press play" merchants out there for sure, but in the main dance music is about the quality of the tunes, not how they're delivered. Most punters aren't bothered if there's a DJ or "live" act playing, tbh. You can't even tell most of the time anyway from the dancefloor. The line between DJ & live performance (or producer set) is very thin these days, with the equipment available.

You probably cause automatic recommendations lists on ticket websites to catch fire. "You liked this, so you'll probably like, wait, wut?"

LOL! Yeah, I like a varied range of music, that's for sure - as long as it's heartfelt, got some meat to it and doesn't have X-factor style vocals!

SaxonRider - Member
In light of a few current 'gigs' related topics on here:

What is their appeal? I have seen various bands play live, and never felt anything

Looking at the replies and considering my own preference for a comfy seat with a well-stocked bar for the interval (see: RFH, Ronnie Scott's etc), I'd say it's probably because you're too old.

Just checked Foo Fighters presale. 60 quid for the cheapest ticket

So much for "music should be free" Mr Grohl

franki - Member

Most punters aren't bothered if there's a DJ or "live" act playing, tbh

Well, I dunno. I went along and saw David Guetta at a festival a while back, he's a name that draws folk specifically to see him, but as far as I could tell watching the video afterwards his entire contribution was occasionally pushing the volume sliders down so you could hear the crowd. I've got no problem with that as an event, it was good fun but it seems weird to sell it as "come and see David Guetta perform!" rather than "Come and listen to David Guetta's album while he's nearby"

Or maybe that sort of thing is to dance music, what One Direction are to bands?

Ticket prices for popular bands are ridiculous.
I've been to three day festivals for cheaper than that. You're getting a couple of hours tops and probably an hour support? 🙄

Or maybe that sort of thing is to dance music, what One Direction are to bands?

Yes, you could say.
David Guetta (way too mainstream for my tastes 😕 )is the butt of a lot of mickey taking from more underground dance musicians & DJs. There's probably a bit of jealousy in there - he's done alright for himself after all and he probably is no more deserving than a great many others to be fair to the guy, but there are many producers & Djs that put a huge amount of effort into what they do on stage. Look at Richie Hawtin / Plastikman for example - his set up is mind-boggling.

If was just me £60 would put me off but is for wife's birthday - conveniently timed as b'day 23rd may and gig 25th. Don't think I have ever been or ever will be this organised again 🙂

[i]Saw the slaves last week[/i]

Saw them on Later (awful name, so hadn't bothered checking them out!) Worth a live visit for definite! 🙂

Dance acts with laptops, keyboards, whatever technology; guitar bands, rap acts; solo acoustic acts, I make no distinction - if it works live it works. I usually won't be [i]watching[/i] anyway.
Last band was Shabazz Palaces, if I opened my eyes, all I would've seen was a large PA in front of me. Too busy getting down to care. Whereas The Amazing Snakeheads - can't take your eyes off the singer, wondering if he will actually kill someone/something.. 😀

Gigs are what sets a great band apart from a good band. It's relatively easy to write a good album and have it recorded to sound perfect. To recreate that in a venue and engage an audience takes a lot more effort. Awesome gigs from the past include Rage Against the Machine, Will Haven, Queens of the Stone Age, Dalek, Dillinger Escape Plan, Cult of Luna and far far more. The best recent gig has got to be Alpha Male Tea Party playing for free at a venue where 2/3 of the band couldn't even fit on the stage! Top stuff.

This reminds me, I need to start looking at gigs in January and February 2015. Those cold dark months are rubbish without a decent night out to look forward to.

If the band is good gigs can be magical. Elbow at Paradiso in Amsterdam 2008 goes down as my best gig ever. The crowd singing "The Final Countdown" at the end to gets the guys back on stage was a treat.
That closely followed by Summer XS in 91. Both events where I was singing pretty much all the way through along with most of the audience.

The one thing I don't understand is live albums - none of the atmosphere with none of the production quality and cost nothing to make. Just for collectors and completists as far as I can tell.

I think whatever you perceive of a 'live' act should be taken with a pinch of salt.

There a lot of evidence of lead vocals being 'flown' in to cover a bad throat. If you can't spot that and I couldn't at the 2 gigs I was at then its a bit of a problem.

That said when I played I mimed on 30% of the set just because I knew I could get away with it

where I was singing pretty much all the way through

please don't do this, I'm paying to hear the band not you and your ability to sound nothing like the singer

Thanks

Plum

[i]I think whatever you perceive of a 'live' act should be taken with a pinch of salt.[/i]

That most definitely isn't the sort of gigs I go to! Different world.

[i]please don't do this, I'm paying to hear the band not you and your ability to sound nothing like the singer I'm paying to listen to[/i]

+1 on that!

(although if it's Elbow or that other band, I couldn't care less 😆 )

DezB

unless you on the mixing board you couldn't tell

Just checked Foo Fighters presale. 60 quid for the cheapest ticket

I think it's a reasonable price for a 2+ hour set from the headline band*, plus support act(s). Considering The Cult were charging £35 for a one-album show not very long ago.

* if you happen to like the headline band & don't live local to where they live.

[i]I think it's a reasonable price...[/i]

Couldn't disagree more, but then I don't go and see "big" bands.

Prepared to pay £30 for Underworld, but that's absolute max. £30.01 and I wouldn't bother! Will see if I can get my mate to pay for it 🙂

I think it's a reasonable price...

Couldn't disagree more, but then I don't go and see "big" bands.

Same here. I don't like the impersonal nature of big gigs and why should I suddenly start paying twice the price I've being paying for tickets to see a band for years, just because they've suddenly been noticed by the mainstream?

I see where you're coming from DezB & franki; I'm a big fan of New Model Army, I think that may have been mentioned before.
But I won't pay more than £25 to see them, nor go any further than Leeds or Holmfirth, as
a) they've never been anywhere near that price before;
b) I've seen them loads of time
c) they'll be back on tour again, somewhere near me before too long

For me, though, the FF gig is different - I've not seen them live before (other than on TV/DVD), I have no idea how much they were last time they were anywhere near me and I have no idea when or if they'll ever play anywhere near me again.

I wouldn't apply the same rule to a band I'm not keen on - e.g. the Rolling Stones. They could be playing in my back garden for free & I'd probably close the curtains

I don't like the impersonal nature of big gigs

Fair play. To be honest, I went to down to London see Shpongle at the Roundhouse in Camden with my wife and all up we spent over £250 (inc train fare.) That did include an all-night after-party though, but was pretty much a once in a lifetime job. 😉

Faithless at V2001 (ish) we come one with a whole field of people jumping to it.
Pearl Jam last year at Milton Keynes 3 hours of music I'd been waiting 20 years to see live.
Foo fighters at Brixton touring the eponymous album.
Subways at a local pub last month.
Alexisonfire in Cambridge where I lost my wedding ring.
****ed Up in Camden where I lost my 2 month old mobile and a mate lost his blackberry.
Walter Schriefels solo gig in a pub in Cambridge which just blew me away.
Rival schools at the Camden Underworld a mix of old classics and new tracks.
Turning up at Brixton to see Alanis Morisette and then realising the tickets said 02 academy Birmingham, laughing about it with my wife and going on a pub crawl anyway.
Delays in a room where the new setup was so loud my hearing was shot for 3 days.
Therapy? with my mates when we were all too young to go without parents, but they let us go anyway...

This list goes on, some of my favourite life experiences are from gigs, so much of my history revolves around gigs. The music comes alive or falls flat on it's face when you see it live.

There's a whole world of stuff out there, but just because I love it I don't expect everyone else too.

franki - Member

Same here. I don't like the impersonal nature of big gigs

Usually I don't either but there's a very small number of bands that can do it well. Biffy Clyro, weirdly, turned out to be one- I remember thinking they'd never be any good in a venue where the back row of the audience wasn't getting covered in Simon Neil's sweat, so discovering it still works in wembley stadium was a bit of a turnup.

Went to see Volbeat this week, they played brilliantly, although the brawl that broke out in the circle pit next to us was a bit alarming!

I don't like the impersonal nature of big gigs

Usually I don't either but there's a very small number of bands that can do it well. Biffy Clyro, weirdly, turned out to be one-

I've not seen them live, but I watched them on TV at T in The Park. They were awesome, but I was left feeling I'd missed a trick by not being Scottish! 😉
My sister-in-law used to drink in the same pub as them in Kilmarnock before she moved down here.

DezB - Member
Saw the slaves last week

Saw them on Later (awful name, so hadn't bothered checking them out!) Worth a live visit for definite!

plumber - Member
I think whatever you perceive of a 'live' act should be taken with a pinch of salt.

There a lot of evidence of lead vocals being 'flown' in to cover a bad throat. If you can't spot that and I couldn't at the 2 gigs I was at then its a bit of a problem.

That said when I played I mimed on 30% of the set just because I knew I could get away with it

I, on the other hand, din't understand the appeal of Elbow. We all have different tastes.

If I want to hear 17000 people singing I'll go to a football match. Can't imagine anything worse at a gig (yes I can - people "clapping along" like 5 year olds BARF!)

Been having an extended break from Gig-going since having kids, but I went to some amazing ones 'back in the day' (late 80's early 90's)

Guns'n'Roses at Wembley Stadium (twice)
Springsteen (5 times)
Metallica at Wembley Arena + Milton Keynes bowl
Dinosaur JR at Brixton
Megadeth at Hammersmith
Slayer/Megadeth headlining the 'Clash of the Titans' tour
INXS at Wembley
Simple Minds
U2 (when they were more about music than Bonos ego)
Rolling Stones - twice at Wembley
Living Colour
Faith No More
The Cure
Madness (including 'Madstock')

I think the prices for big gigs are crazy these days - not sure I'd pay £100+ for a 'standing' ticket.

I guess some people get it, and others don't.
I can't imagine paying good money to stand in the cold watching men kick a ball around for 90mins.

I'm not really a gig goer and haven't been to many concerts but I do like a bit of Coldplay, saw them in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow in 06 (?), then again in Madrid two years ago, then in Sunderland, took my family to see them in Manchester, then happened to be in Auckland when they played there. Superb.

Went to T in the Park in something like 2009 and enjoyed the bands I saw but the other people made me sick, throwing pints of p!ss over the crowds in front of them, huuuuuuuge queues for everything, expensive prices, no thanks. Have seen Feeder a couple of times too.

Having said that, I'll be hoping my boss at work doesn't notice me using company time on Friday morning for Foo Fighter tickets at the Stadium of Light next year.

Any of the gigs by Here & Now (Planet Gong).
Best live band I've ever seen, and the best audience too.

Cheetham Hill Library was a highlight.
No bar, just mushroom tea.
All dayer with Lemn Sissay, Arthur Brown & Fungus.

Now that's a line up.

I could see the basslines by two in the afternoon, laughed solidly for 12 hours and had to be coaxed out of a Kentucky at four in the morning.

"I could see the basslines by two in the afternoon"

ha .I remember that sensation.

I went to watch the Gaslight Anthem and Deer Tick at Alexandra Palace last night.

Gaslight Anthem were good, but Deer Tick were fantastic. They did things that absolutely wouldn't work on an album (five minute guitar freakouts, rockabilly cover) but are mindblowing live. That's a big part of the appeal for me.

I'm paying for it today though, and I didn't even drink...

Went to see Volbeat this week

You lucky, lucky person. only discovered them myself about 2 weeks ago.
Definitely a band on my to see list.