I am 48.
28th May, 1990
Sound + Vision Tour,
David Bowie,
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California
Sort of hard to beat that, and after 1000s of bands, still one of the best.
Edit… actually, I made a list years ago you might enjoy:
- a) I have the right to change my mind at any point. Frankly, I cannot remember them. Like… I would need to start talking deeply with friends and other live show nuts to jog my memory. I have seen 10K bands easy, as for number of shows, it is not something I could count. There were 4 week spans I would see a show every night for a long time. College averaged 3 times a week easy, 2005-2008 averaged 4 at times…. and I was known for seeing two or three shows a day (a live band ends at 1:30am-ish, the DJ starts at 1:45a, and the after party starts at 6am. I have done this countless times… Devotchka to Amon Tobin to Anon Salon, or Tea Leaf Green to Bassnectar to Breakfast of Champions, etc.)
- b) There are too many personal, intimate shows to count. most I cannot remember, and some would not be accessible by you gentle readers. I do not sell you short, but from impromptu Surprise Me Mr. Davis/Slip 6am sunrise camp shows, to Everyone Orchestra including every single SF musician in a 5-hour jam session that lasted until 10am, or the infamous Tea Leaf Green RV set at High Sierra that just might not count to some people.
- c) I doubt I could categorize. Watching bands get huge from seeing them at shows with 3 people… Alice Russell (played at Yoshi’s recently), Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (that Warfield show is one of the best I have ever seen), 3rd wave ska revival with Op Ivy, Skankin’ Pickle, Let’s Go Bowling, etc., Primus at Berkley Square, Ween at a smoky bar I snuck into….
- d) Or shows of real friends and watching that… Like Bobby Milk, The Fixtures, Alison Smells Like Bagels, and other friend’s bands that you will never have heard of.
- e) Bands that I have seen countless times that are always ALWAYS a solid show (plus anything I mentioned above): NIN, Galactic, Daft Punk, Antibalas, Devotchka, Mofro, Federico Aubele, Devil Makes Three, Emiliana Torrini, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Robert Walter, Greyboy Allstars, Anything Les Claypool does ever (almost), Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, the Slip, ModeSelektor, Tea Leaf Green, MSTRKRFT (until recently), the Suicide Girls Burlesque Tour, New Mastersounds, Disco Biscuits, Flaming Lips, Dirty Dozen or Rebirth Brass Bands, Soulive, Stanton Moore’s sides, I doubt I will need to go on. Without Further ADIEU!!!!!
hania rani and jordan rakei
The Top Ten Concerts for a one Uncle Fishbits aka MJH aka Fishy
1) David Bowie – 1990 Sound + Vision Tour. Sort of popped my *real* concert cherry (i.e. less bad horns or lousy guitars over screeching political vocals) It was like a slap to the WHOAH… the energy… the funky smell and nice red eyed people munching treats. I had not known that music could *feel* like that. Thanks sis! Albeit an insurance policy for my folks that my sis would be safe, they had no idea this would lead me down the path of live music addiction.
2) 1993 with my first big festival. Laguna Seca daze in Monterey/Carmel, CA. It was not that big of a deal for me with any individual band (less the Boulder bands) … but it was really the experience of my first festival, and that incredible vibe that you get when sharing a lot of love for a lot of people in a lot of ways. It was eye opening, no chemicals needed. We went for one day, but that entire weekend included Allman Brothers, Blues Travel, Shawn Colvin, 10,000 Maniacs, Phish, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, The Samples, Sam Phillips, Acoustic Junction, Burning Spear, and more. My sis was back from her first year of college and I was already well versed in the grungy prog-indie alt.country scene (or *WHAT*ever you call it all) … so once again she allows me into this world that I only knew from stories. Frankly… the stories did not do it justice. THANKS AGAIN SIS!
3) The many times I saw the Skatalites with Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso, Lester Sterling, Johnny Moore, Jackie Mittoo, Lloyd Brevett, Lloyd Knibb – Saw them so many times between 1989 and 1998, but only once before Jackie Mittoo died. But that was, musically, one of the most incredible honors to be part of. The one at Bimbo’s 365 I saw in 1995. Just mind-blowing musicianship that rarely exists nowadays.
4) They Might Be Giants in 1994 was special. Mackey Auditorium at CU. They started off with kids’ instruments… playing like that was the whole show. Hilarious. I am not sure why this sticks out, but the theatre was filled with those swing seats you get at the symphony or ballet. Too small, uncomfortable. They opened with these teeny instruments and started to beat them to death¦. Eventually that sort of rising energy engulfed the audience and the entire 2000-person theatre was out of their seat and had a spontaneous conga line formed. Bizarre. I would not even rank them as too important a band to me. But the energy, the spirit, it was undeniable.
5) Tom Waits – 2 nights at the Denver Paramount Theatre Oct 1999 – one of the most special experiences of my life. Then again, the Black Rider in 2004 was insane as well. Same venue, too… Bjork around the same time too… she was amazing and I was awe-struck.
6) Charlie Hunter and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in West LA. 8th December 2001. Second Show. JFJO opened with a 45-minute set, and Charlie played one of the most incredible shows I have ever seen him play. Folding chairs in the back room of a hot guitar shop on Pico Blvd. Unbelievable. And because of this exercise, I just found the live show: http://www.archive.org/details/CH2001-12-08.
7) The Flaming Lips on Xingolati Groove Cruise Oct 2005, specifically compared to all the other times I have seen them. There was this blur of staff & crew, musicians, performers (of which I was a zombie bear and that is a long story), and attendees. Frankly that ship had 5000 people on it and we were all one in the same. That show that night was just mind blowing. And it was likely one of the most interactive and totally bat shit insane experiences I have ever had.
8) NIN at Shoreline in 2006, July. Without a doubt the most interesting and intriguing light show I have ever seen, and an impressive wakeup call that Trent is doing more than industrial music. I used to love them (saw in Denver in 1994), then did not care at all for over a decade. Then realized again, at *that* show, that Trent will be remembered for what he has done and what he is doing for a long time.
9) July 2007, I doubt people will fault the cliche. Daft Punk at the Greek. Face melting insanity. That was… well I think it will go down as one of the most incredible shows ever. It is totally played out to rave about them, but boy do they deserve it.
10) Soulwax last year Oct 2008. I simply had absolutely no idea what those guys had been doing. Without a doubt one of the most interesting, innovative, and diverse tech bands out there.
I am not going to limit myself here, because Cirque Du Soleil’s “O” in Vegas is one of the most incredible stage spectacles that has ever been taken on in human history. Go now… pay for the up-close seats… and go now. I will also say the flood of afrobeat, soul, jazz, and other shows flooding back is making it hard to “post” this. Jimmy Smith, I am so sorry!
1) This is sort of weird sorry but the PRODUCTION VALUE of the 2008 Lights in the Sky NIN tour was bonkers. They were surrounded by this translucent LED box that would run matrix like code in red and change throughout the set to create a wild visual experience, storytelling, etc. but you could see the band.
Example: https://youtu.be/JKf90HrlPMM?si=fppwk94_I9H9SB64&t=5551
2) Daft Punk Alive 2007 in a small 8500 intimate theatre in Berkeley, CA, called the Greek Theatre.
Holy Crap found some footage!!!!! wow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AboZfL4g_kE
Had VIP EVERYTHING which was just badass area and quick dedicated drinks lines, or whatever. It was a few days after my birthday, I was with a sexy lady… it was just the best. I do not think there were wild variations on that tour of their setlist. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/daft-punk/2007/william-randolph-hearst-greek-theatre-berkeley-ca-2bd6502e.html
The images of the pyramid here are so great: https://thedaftpunkhistorian.weebly.com/behind-the-scenes.html
Life was good.
Life is still good.
3) Justice 2008 in San Francisco. Just wild fun.
Great setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/justice/2008/the-concourse-san-francisco-ca-5bdebb7c.html
4) Jungle at Bill Graham 2023 in SF was really, REALLY fantastic. Do they even count? I know NIN does not? LOL https://soundchecksf.com/2023/09/09/jungle-live-tour-san-francisco-2023/
5) 21st September this year of 2024, Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, and even more wrapped up into Anderson Paak and the Free Nationals for one of the best live performances I have ever seen in my life. Here is some video from the night: https://photos.app.goo.gl/d8uLXfwe7F1t3Bf88