Favorite Concert

[cpriddims]

I was way into Kiss too but never saw them. I collected the cards with the chewing gum and stickers religiously for awhile.

[Popcorn Blizzard]

Hey, Cpriddims, I collected those KISS cards as well (still have them packed away in a box somewhere).

The only concert I ever attended back in the 80s was the Robert Palmer 'Addicted to Love' tour with Belinda Carlisle as opening act. We were in the second row, so it was awesome to have Palmer actually look down and make eye contact with you. His female backup singer would also point to guys in the audience and wink at them. And it was such a rush to hear classics like "Bad Case of Loving You" and the Power Station song "Some Like It Hot" performed live.

Robert Palmer, RIP.

[georgygirl]

Yes, it was a big loose the death of Palmer, but thanks for share your experience in that concert Popcorn.

Seems like it was really cool and amazing being seated in 2° row.

[Howstupidmrbates]

My very first show was Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band! My older sister took me when I was about 15, here in LA at the Greek Theater. Talk about a contact high. I too, sadly, have never seen The Police live. I have seen all three chaps in their solo incarnations, but never together. I remember telling Andy that at some show of his and he laughed, saying it was a sign of the times. He went on and played his second set and did Message In A Bottle, maybe just for me, I don't know.
Some other great shows:
Earth Wind & Fire, Universal Amph. 1988 (great band to see live)
Sting, LA Forum '88 3rd freakin' row!
Rolling Stones, LA Coliseum '89 (with Guns N' Roses) 'nuff said
Both Amnesty shows, Forum 86 and Coliseum 88 (Sting, Peter Gabriel, etc)
Genesis, Forum and Dodger Stadium 86-87, sat in first 20 rows for both amazing shows.
Peter Gabriel, The Pond 2003( I think), absolutely incredible
Kiss, Dodger Stadium Halloween 1998, a perfect Halloween
Voodoo Music Festival, New Orleans 2004 pre-Katrina (Velvet Revolver, Green Day, etc)
House Of Blues label release party 1997 I think, watched blues standing next to Mick Jagger, Uma Thurman, John Goodman, Dan Akroyd. Fun.
Sting The Wiltern 1991, rehearsal shows for the tour
Andy SummersThe Wiltern 1990 I believe, he opened up for Tangerine Dream, played alone...just him and his gadgets.

Many more I'm sure I've forgotten

[georgygirl]

Mrbates, could you tell me more about the time you went to see Andy Summers?

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us (KK-F)

[Howstupidmrbates]

Andy used to play alot at this small jazz supper club near Universal Studios called The Baked Potato. Very intimate. I saw him play there many times in the late 90's. He talks freely with everyone before, after and between sets. He has signed so much stuff for me over the years. I have one Sting and Stewart signature compared to around 15 from Andy. The time at The Wiltern was when Mysterious Barricades had just come out. He played alone, just him and his guitar and all the gadgets, and it was quite interesting watching all that sound coming from one man. He was opening for Tangerine Dream and he played for about 30 minutes I guess. I spoke with him at the screening Stewart had for Everyone Stares, and he says he has retired from playing The Baked Potato. Oh well. That place had about 20 different types of baked potato to choose from. Yum!

[georgygirl]

Thank you very much Mr. bates, for share your Andy's experiences with me.

Your information give the perception that Andy is a very cool man.
What a a pity that I never saw him in a concert like you, but at least, your report give the feeling of how he is with his fans.

[jedsoon]

mr. bates, you mentioned also seeing stewart in a solo incarnation. could you provide further details?

i still have to comment on my favorite show i ever attended. but it's coming...

[Divemistress of the Dark]

Looking forward to it, js.

Wow! Andy solo in a small club...sometimes I really miss living in Washington, D.C., where I had slightly better odds of seeing stuff like that. I'm sure it's fat city being in L.A. or New York

(although I do have to say that, whenever I go to Atlanta to see a show, I'm struck by how mobbed it is. You see fewer real "name" artists here, but it's always a lot more intimate...)

[georgygirl]

I'll be waiting for it (comment) jedsoon

[Mrs. Gradenko]

Everyone's passing us by. OK I did see Bob Dylan this year, but still that's not enough...

He was turned to the right of the stage though, what the fuck? I have this think about wanting to see their faves at concerts, I'm weird that way.

I'm afraid someone's going to retire before I get to see them...

Stewart will never retire though, I'm pretty sure of that.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

Yep. I've skipped out on a few concerts I later really, really wished I'd seen, so I always try to attend things if I possibly can.

Right now I'm keeping my eyes peeled for Iggy Pop, whom I've never seen in concert and who won't tour forever. He plays California a lot, but not so much other places. I really should have gone to the Coachella show where he played with Mike Watt, formerly of the band Minutemen (of whom I'm also a huge fan, and who is an insanely cool guy).

[BongoBoy]

I just saw Van Morrison in Toronto (great!) and in November I get to see Bob Dylan.

When I saw Andy solo at the Diamond club in Toronto (can't remember the album, has a fish on it) it was awesome, he even sang So Lonely !

I got to shake his hand in the parking lot as he climbed into a red sports car.

That is still the best sounding rock guitar I have ever heard, I can't exlpain it...it was a full clean sound.

thanks Andy, I'm looking for your book in Canada!

[jedsoon]

my favorite show was HELMET.

the venue was Ziggy's in Winston-Salme, NC, the year 1997. we got into town that afternoon, several hours before the show started. we were going to eat, go shopping, etc. but we thought we'd check out the venue first. i got to hear NIN's souncheck this way 3 years earlier, so what the heck.

ziggy's is basically a performance stage, two bars, some pool tables, and a huge outdoor area surrounded by a gate. the gate was wide open, with no attendant or anyone in sight. i was the only one in the group that dared to enter. i encountered no one 'til i got inside.

amazingly, i had entered during helmet's souncheck. the melvins were opening, and i saw king buzzo at the mixing board. john stanier was the only one on stage. he was pounding away at his kit. there were a techs/roadies milling about. i suspect that anyone who saw me probably thought i was one of them.

then i encountered the man himself: page hamilton. he was sitting at one of the tables reading a newspaper. desperate to cling to my fly on the wall status, i chose to sit down on the staristep that led down to the pit. i folded my arms and tried to remain as quiet and unobtruive as possible. it was then that page noticed me, and we made brief eye contact. he then returned to his newspaper. i was still pretty starstruck in those days, even if most of the performers there aren't too well known outside of their fanbases.

finally, somebody called for page to come down. he got up and jogged down to the stage. he picked up his guitar and started playing. at this point, i felt it was wisest not to risk exposing myself or wearing our my welcom, so i quietly exited. my friends were waiting outside, and might be wondering what happened to me.

so we killed time 'til the show started. by the time we came back, the place was packed. we caught the melvins' set. very experimental and cool, but i was there to see helmet. i worked my way up to the front for most of their set. it's really not the same if you're not mixing it up with the crowd to music you truly enjoy. i didn't and still don't care for the album they were supporting, but they really didn't play a lot of those songs.

the kicker was when the reached the end of their set and came out for the oncore. tho my energy for the evening was virutally spent, i was ever prepared to give all i DIDN'T have to them. they began asking for requests. by this time i was squarely in front of page hamilton as he asked us what we wanted to hear. my favorite helmet album is BETTY, so i started asking for tunes from it. as he strained to hear the crowd, he seemed to notice my voice, which was natural since i was literally the closest one to him. the stage at ziggy's is really cool, since it's not elevated above the pit and performers can look their audience right in the eye. that's what page did when he singled out my voice. he did this thing where his look became slightly more intense as tho straining his ear to hear. he looked straight at me and turned his ear slightly toward me. "overrated!" i exclaimed, the penultimate tune from their most expressive album to date. "can't do that one," page replied. he was speaking to me! "we haven't practiced that one." i kept up requests and he caught another. "blacktop!" i shouted, a barnburner from their first disc, and a really easy song to play to boot. "we might do that one!" he answered. he then backed away from the mic and shouted to henry (bogdan, the bassist). he seemed to be instructing the band on what the next song was going to be. indeed, it was blacktop! so here i was, requesting songs helmet and they were actually playing them! it was one of the high points of my existence. i doubt i've ever thrashed harder!

finally, the set came to an end. this is the moment i still can't believe. page bowed his head to the audience and extended his hand. in it was his guitar pick! the world seemed to be moving slow motion for a time, as the image of him doing this couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but i remember it as though i stared at it for weeks. incredibly, there was no crowd clamoring for this treasured item, and the stage lights almost seemed to be shining down on it and illuminating it. i was in the very earliest days of my musical aspirations/experimentations, so as i grabbed it, it felt like the literal passing of the golden baton. and he even used the exact same style and guage pick as i used to use!

the show was over, and it ended up being the capper to my rigorous concert-going days, as i had seen most of the acts i'd really been anxious to see. what a way to go out! but it wasn't quite over...

the band hung around outside their tour bus around back, which was easy to access. ziggy's is for bands, not rock stars. i was the world's biggest geek/fanboy, but i couldn't resist the urge to go up to page, shake his hand and thank him for the musical inspiration he'd given me and say all those useless, silly things that he must have heard a million times by that point. i did retain my composure enough to ask why he chose the direction he did for aftertaste, without explaining that i thought it was a major step back from the expansiveness of betty. "i just... write what i feel," was his answer. i couldnt bring myself to genuinely discuss it from a critical perspective, so i left it at that...

i gotta get monochrome TODAY!