3 June 2009

Top concerts

An attempt to list the most memorable concerts I've been to. I don't go to many concerts, so there are really only a few to choose from. Guessing at chronological order and probably--except for the first and last--getting it wrong; I wish I could remember when most of these happened!

  • GWAR at The Masquerade ~1990 - First mosh pit and I was hooked. Everyone I tried to describe it to was aghast. I blame my explanatory skills. A group of 6 or so of us drove in from Carrollton in a van. Once there, I had to leave my glasses at the ticket desk (they actually accommodated?!) so I could jump into the fun. The most profane spectacle I've ever seen. By the end of the evening my clothes were stained gray from fake blood thrown from the stage.
  • Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve at The Fox in Atlanta - Excellent arrangements for piano and voice (with some guitar). Best was Nieve's orchestral voicing for Watching the Detectives.
  • McCoy Tyner at The Variety Playhouse in Atlanta - Amazing improvisations reminded me of Prokofiev.
  • Philip Glass Ensemble at The Fox in Atlanta performing the soundtrack live to the movie Koyaanisqatsi - We had never seen Koyaanisqatsi before and this was the perfect introduction: musicians working to keep up with a film projector that's showing a movie about humans working to keep up with the machines they've created.
  • Yes at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center - I almost didn't go 'cause I had stopped listening to them in college. Rekindled my love of (some of) their music. Best was getting to hear Ritual from Tales from Topographic Oceans. This has become a touchstone album for me (and was the soundtrack to my recent re-entry into the jogging life).
  • Beastie Boys at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center - Them doing a fun/sloppy version of Sabotage was neat. Great to see Mix Master Mike live.
  • No Fun Fest 2009 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg - A singularly unique experience.

(I can't believe I never tried listing these before...)

[ posted by sstrader on 3 June 2009 at 4:34:57 PM in Concerts | tagged yes ]