Thoughts on Rock Concerts from 30,000 Feet

It’s Friday. I’m 30,000 feet above the Earth. I am inside a jet winging my way home after a few days of business in New York City.

I am looking forward to going to attending the Social Distortion show tonight in Seattle after I get back and rest up a bit.

But right now, I’m board.

As I sit here in seat 15A – luckily an exit row with extra leg room! - listening to a “best of” list of Social D songs in anticipation of the gig tonight, my mind wondered into thinking about the best rock concerts I ever saw.

While I am probably forgetting some shows, and I do not have any info here in the airplane to remind me of dates and venues, below are my recollections of the best shows I attended. While performance quality is the most important criteria to me, it’s not the only one. Other things like how important the band or performer is to me personally, who I was with, if I met members of the band after the show (and if they were cool) are other things I consider for example.

So, with that in mind, and in no particular order, below are 10 shows I rate as among the very best I ever attended. All shows were in Seattle or Washington state.

Joe Strummer. Joe is my all-time music hero – just as much for what he did musically with the Clash and in his later work as his unabashed political approach to rock and roll. I actually saw him twice before he suddenly and sadly died of a heart defect in late 2002. It’s difficult to choose between the two shows. One was the first time I saw my hero. Standing three feet from him as he cut into Clash classics and songs from his new band The Mescaleros at the Showbox in 1999 as Joe took the Mescaleros on their first tour of the U.S. was a truly great moment and might have been the choice here.

But I will instead go with the second time I saw Strummer. This time it was Oct. 2001 at the Sky Church venue at the Seattle Experience Music Museum. Again, this was a small place, and I was close up to Joe and the band. However, this time the band was even more polished, Joe was really hitting his stride with the Mescaleros, the performance was HOT and I was there with my very good friend and Joe fan, Paul. So, I’ll go with this one as my favorite Joe show. Within little more than a year of this gig, Joe died. A good last memory for me.

Manic Street Preachers – the Manics are one of my favorite bands and you can read more about them and their most recent CD by clicking over to another one of my recent post here. In the UK and Europe the Manics fill stadiums for their shows. However, when they (very rarely) come to the U.S. they book small clubs. And so it was in 1999 when they went on tour to support their most recent album, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours that they came to Seattle and played the Aero Space – the same space now called Neumo’s. The rarity of this is impressive. The fact that this band came all the way to Seattle (and haven’t been back since), that they played a small club and that I had the smarts to strike at the opportunity are the reasons why this gig is definitely a top 10 for me. Oh, and the show rocked! So, the “I can’t believe I’m at a Manics gig in Seattle” factor was matched by the performance.

Billy Idol – 1986 at the Seattle Coliseum (now called Key Arena). OK, some of you may be saying, “really, Billy Idol? Top 10?” And, you might be right in some ways. But, it’s all about the context here. As you can read in one of my other posts here, Billy Idol was a key “gateway” performer that ended up opening me up to a lot of great bands. So, in 1986, I was pretty stoked on Idol and would not be denied a seat to see his Whiplash Smile tour when it rolled into Seattle. My recollection is that Billy put on a pretty dang good show, playing his hits from his solo albums plus a few from his previous band, Generation X. As a bonus, the opening band at this show was The Cult. I later saw a Billy Idol show in 2005 (I think) at the Summer Nights at the Pier and enjoyed that one too, but nothing like that first show.

Radiohead. This is another band that I saw twice. The first one was at the Gorge Amphitheater in eastern Washington. The second one was at the White River Amphitheater near Auburn, WA. Both shows were really good, but I’ll go with the second one because my buddy Piper scored some front row seats (standing area actually) that put us within a few feet of the stage. Performing many songs from their catalog, Radiohead impressed with song quality, energy in their performance and all around cool vibe.

Carbon Silicon. March 2008 at Chop Suey. This is the band put together in the early 2000s by former Clash guitarist Mick Jones (he’s the one in the Clash who sings Should I Stay or Should I Go). After a creating dance rock albums in the 1980s and 1990s with Big Audio Dynamite and then taking a break all-together, Mick ramped back up in a more rock tradition with Carbon Silicon – bringing long-time friend and former Generation X member Tony James on guitar. Anyway, after putting out their first CD, The Last Patrol, Carbon Silicon came to Seattle. This show makes my top 10 for several reasons: 1) it’s Mick Jones from the Clash!, 2) very small venue, 3) good performance, 4) I met Mick after the show. Enough said!

The Who – Gorge Amphitheater in 200o. I love The Who. Pete Townsend is a genius in my mind and The Who were innovators and rocked hard in the 60s and 70s and when I saw they were coming to the Gorge we had to go. Seating ourselves up on the grassy upper section of the Gorge Amphitheater, Diane and I were impressed by how good the sound was given how far away we were. The band impressed by playing all their classics and indulging in some improvisation on a few numbers. This is a top 10 for the status of the band, the outdoor summer experience and how really, really great the band sounded all these years after they became famous. Sadly within a couple year, bassist John Entwistle died.

Social Distortion – 2005 at the Showbox. We’ll see how the show tonight compares, but the first time I saw Social D was a great experience. Mike Ness and crew put out a great brand of rock ‘n roll that’s part punk, part Stones, part Johnny Cash and I’d wanted to see them for some time. With two buddies coming along for the ride we stationed ourselves in front of the stage knowing that it would be full combat once the gig started…and we were right. While rocking out to classic Social D tunes, we were also fully engaged in making sure we didn’t get knocked over or abused in the mosh pit. I place this gig in my top 10 because of finally getting to see a band I’d long wanted to, the most pit experience and – of course – a white hot performance by Ness and band. Very rock and roll!

Glasvegas – November 2008 at Chop Suey. This is a relatively new band – one that I started getting into during 2008 and by the time they put out their excellent debut CD and then came ‘round for their tour in the fall of that year I was not going to be denied. And I was not disappointed. I put this gig in my top 10 for several reasons: 1) hot new band, 2) small venue, 3) solid performance, 4) a posse of buddies rallied to make an evening out of it (not easily done when your crew is late 30s/early 40s, some with kids), 5) we met the band afterwards at a nearby bar. It was really a perfect concert evening.

I later saw Glasvegas again in April 2009 at Nuemos where they put on what I think was an even better show. You can read more about Glasvegas on my blog here, here and here. You can view pictures I took of them at that April gig here.

Earth, Wind & Fire. Summer Nights at the Pier in 2004. You may think this band sticks out as pretty different than the other ones on my list, and you’re right. But, one thing they have in common is that Earth, Wind & Fire can really throw down a good show. There is no doubt that they were on fire this hot summer night when Diane and I took in this show. And that’s another reason that it’s on my top 10 list. Both Diane and I were there and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Brian Setzer Orchestra. Pioneer Square in 1990-something (1996?). Brian Setzer was the lead singer and guitarist for one my favorite bands when I was a kid, the Stray Cats. After some on and off projects in the late 80s and early 1990s, Setzer started a big-band orchestra that he fronted with his unique rockabilly guitar playing. His efforts really were key to the resurgence of “swing” music becoming popular in the 1990s. This show was among the first for his new band and the venue was really small - especially for a big band. I rate this one highly because of this, the fact that it was the first time I saw Setzer live and because the music was so different than what I had been listening to at that time. Very cool.

Special mention:

• Oingo Boingo – 1984 at the Paramount in Seattle. This was the first live rock show I ever went to.
• Rush – 1986 at the Seattle Coliseum (now called Key Arena). While I’m not a fan now, this as the first “big time” show I went to
• Nirvana – 1993 at the Seattle Coliseum. Simply put…it was Nirvana.
• Sex Pistols – Bumbershoot 1996. Simply put….it was the Sex Pistols man!
• Ray Davies (of the Kinks) – Showbox SoDo summer of 2008.
• Stray Cats – summer 2007 at the Puyallup fairgrounds. At long last I finally get to see this band that I loved since junior high live.
• Placebo - The Crocodile in 1999. Great band, great show, small venue, packed, enthusiastic crowd.
• The English Beat - Showbox 2008. Same reasons as Placebo

All-time worst shows:

• The Jesus & Mary Chain – great band, really bad performance.
• Steely Dan - Gorge Amphitheater. Exceedingly boring. The most boring show I've ever seen. Not rock and roll. Rainy. Did I mention how boring it was?
• Dave Matthews Band – Gorge Amphitheater. The second most boring show I have ever been to. No effort by the performers, no improvisation, no energy. Lets put it this way, the best part of this show (other than when it ended) was a fly-over by a B-2 bomber.