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5 concerts meme
Jun. 29th, 2005 01:45 pmFive memorable concerts I have been to, or at least the five that spring to my mind first:
1. Einsturzende Neubauten, the Paradise, I think it was late 1998 or early 1999, the Ende Neu support tour. It was the first time I ever saw them and was floored by the power and emotion of it all. The music took on a fierce gutteral power live that a recording could never capture. Also, during that really loud, long high-pitched noise in Headcleaner, something in my right ear went "sproing" and has never been quite right since.
2. Wiseblood, Metro (I think), Chicago, 1990. Jim Thirlwell is one terrifying man. He took his mirrored sunglasses off at one point during the show, which sounds like a very small thing, but looking at his eyes I really really wished he would put them back on. All the theatrics in the world couldn't begin to compete with Thirlwell in his stage persona. The music was a mix of Wiseblood and Foetus material with some nods to the Swans thrown in, as Roli Mossman was there at the time.
3. Specimen, the Channel, 1986. The turnout was wretched, I'm sure they were all on massive quantities of drugs on this failed attempt at a comeback tour, but they still put on a smashing show. During the encore of Surfing USA (damned if I know why that was the encore, but there you are), Ollie Wisdom started pulling audience members up to dance on stage, including me. That would be more special if the audience hadn't been approximately as numerous as the band members, but still, it felt pretty darn special to very young me.
4. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the Orpheum, 2002. This was the No More Shall We Part tour, and even though those songs may not be as strong as his previous catalog, at least on disc, live they were muscular and sounded pulled from the depths of his soul. The Bad Seeds took the stage like lions, all barely contained testosterone and masculinity, no doubt heightened by quarrels that were ongoing within the band. That duelling duet between Warren Ellis and Blixa Bargeld during Oh My Lord was scorching in its intensity--a fitting coda to the end of an era.
5. Ella Fitzgerald, Ravinia (Illinois), 1989 I think. She was (obviously) quite elderly at the time, and had to be helped on stage by an assistant, sitting on a stool for much of the concert. But she chose her material well and on many of the songs, you'd never know you were listening to a 73 year old Ella and not a 20 year old Ella. Between songs a young woman in the crowd yelled out "We love you Ella" and in response Ella said that hearing a young person saying something like that meant more to her than she could ever say. If anybody who was there says they weren't crying, they're lying. Who were we that somebody like Ella Fitzgerald should be grateful for our love? But there's the nature of performance in a nutshell, isn't it.
Man, I could go on... Sonic Youth at the Living Room in 1985, Ministry and Front 242 at the Channel in 1985, Love and Rockets in a Milwaukee bowling alley in 1986ish, Bauhaus in Boston and New York whenever that was, Faith and the Muse at ManRay last year, all those shows that touch the heart or the soul in some way and leave you floating in their aftermath.
Now your turn, if you haven't already done the meme...
1. Einsturzende Neubauten, the Paradise, I think it was late 1998 or early 1999, the Ende Neu support tour. It was the first time I ever saw them and was floored by the power and emotion of it all. The music took on a fierce gutteral power live that a recording could never capture. Also, during that really loud, long high-pitched noise in Headcleaner, something in my right ear went "sproing" and has never been quite right since.
2. Wiseblood, Metro (I think), Chicago, 1990. Jim Thirlwell is one terrifying man. He took his mirrored sunglasses off at one point during the show, which sounds like a very small thing, but looking at his eyes I really really wished he would put them back on. All the theatrics in the world couldn't begin to compete with Thirlwell in his stage persona. The music was a mix of Wiseblood and Foetus material with some nods to the Swans thrown in, as Roli Mossman was there at the time.
3. Specimen, the Channel, 1986. The turnout was wretched, I'm sure they were all on massive quantities of drugs on this failed attempt at a comeback tour, but they still put on a smashing show. During the encore of Surfing USA (damned if I know why that was the encore, but there you are), Ollie Wisdom started pulling audience members up to dance on stage, including me. That would be more special if the audience hadn't been approximately as numerous as the band members, but still, it felt pretty darn special to very young me.
4. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the Orpheum, 2002. This was the No More Shall We Part tour, and even though those songs may not be as strong as his previous catalog, at least on disc, live they were muscular and sounded pulled from the depths of his soul. The Bad Seeds took the stage like lions, all barely contained testosterone and masculinity, no doubt heightened by quarrels that were ongoing within the band. That duelling duet between Warren Ellis and Blixa Bargeld during Oh My Lord was scorching in its intensity--a fitting coda to the end of an era.
5. Ella Fitzgerald, Ravinia (Illinois), 1989 I think. She was (obviously) quite elderly at the time, and had to be helped on stage by an assistant, sitting on a stool for much of the concert. But she chose her material well and on many of the songs, you'd never know you were listening to a 73 year old Ella and not a 20 year old Ella. Between songs a young woman in the crowd yelled out "We love you Ella" and in response Ella said that hearing a young person saying something like that meant more to her than she could ever say. If anybody who was there says they weren't crying, they're lying. Who were we that somebody like Ella Fitzgerald should be grateful for our love? But there's the nature of performance in a nutshell, isn't it.
Man, I could go on... Sonic Youth at the Living Room in 1985, Ministry and Front 242 at the Channel in 1985, Love and Rockets in a Milwaukee bowling alley in 1986ish, Bauhaus in Boston and New York whenever that was, Faith and the Muse at ManRay last year, all those shows that touch the heart or the soul in some way and leave you floating in their aftermath.
Now your turn, if you haven't already done the meme...
