Greatest live concert experiences

MBV (well, duh)
Marc Almond (and Soft Cell!)
The Chameleons (and Mark Burgess solo)
The Smashing Pumpkins, several different times
The Cure
Depeche Mode
Tool
Radiohead (saw the last three within a week of each other summer 2001 -- good week!)
Legendary Pink Dots
Swans
Paik
Landing
Spacious Mind
Kinski
Windy and Carl
Roy Montgomery
Jane's Addiction
Nine Inch Nails

etc. etc. etc. this list would run on forever for me, I think. But I must not forget various incarnations of Celesteville and Yak Brigade. And Di and Duane. :-)

Merzbow last Friday.
Milford Graves a couple years ago at the Empty Bottle.
Test at the Velvet Lounge.
Fennesz, O'Rourke, Rehberg at the Empty Bottle, June '98.
Kraftwerk, June '98.
Shellac/Uzeda/dis- on my 20th birthday, '95.
Er, uh...
Caroliner at some shitty dive bar, '99 (?).
some others.

"that's the surge protector"

I didn't get to see what he played, but I assumed it was just a laptop or something. Wish I could've gone Saturday, to see Borbetomagus (one of my favorite bands whom I've never seen).

I was told he used a bunch of iPods and petals. I'm also told that one of my songs sounds like some Merzbow.

This show suppsoedly sounded like lots of whirring machines!

Mogwai
Spiritualized
Zen Guerilla
Melt Banana
Carl Cox
Echo & Bunnymen
Jonathan Richman
John Cale

(and surprisingly these are all shows where I was in the front row.)

DJ Shadow was pretty okay when I saw him, but went on a little long and had a proclivity for really goofy stage banter (oddly enough).

Most of his on stage banter was about all the different equipment he was using.

You were there? Damn, so was I!

Shit was dope tho'.

{/WORD}

I'm sure I'm forgetting some big 'uns.

Steve Reich
Sun Ra Arkestra (w/ and w/out Sun Ra)
Psychic TV
Butthole Surfers
RUIN [pretty local, long defunct]
Scram [ditto]
Hassan Hakmoun
Dimi Mint Aba
Houria Aichi
[A trance music ensemble from Baluchistan whose name I forget]
Neil Young
Tish Hinojosa [the first couple times, anyway)
Diamanda Galas
George Wassouf [just for the thrill of seeing a real Arabic pop star, and drinking lots of arak]

That's all I can think of at the moment.

sun ra's arkestra
jenny toomey and geoff farina ('98?)
john zorn's masada
out hud, deerhoof, witchy poo, and sean na na or boxlietner...shit.
hans grusel's krankencabinet and big techno werewolves
palatka, end of the century party, don martin 3, and second story window
nuzzle, patterns make sunrise, fisticuffs bluff, and moonraker
arab on radar, lightning bolt, the locust, quest for quintanaroo ('00 at cocodrie, sf r.i.p.)
avey tare and panda bear and black dice and new faggot cunts
half-handed cloud, soul junk, deerhoof, and brother danielson in his nine fruit tree
tful 282 and meringue
harry pussy, smog, and sebadoh
tortoise and oval... '99?
hot snakes '00
burning spear
smashing pumpkins and chainsaw kittens '92
unrest and slant 6
flaming lips and enon '00

bah... a person could go on and on... i can't even remember half the shows... brain, why must you fail me at such a young age?
m.

Spearhead/Digable Planets
Spearhead/311
Rusted Root (before the small "Primal Scream" singin' girl left)
Beck/Hank Williams III
Prince (only 60$ ticket that's been worth it so far)
Junior Brown
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
VHS or Beta (best band-at-a-rave EVAH!)

Homiez of mine from just up I-64 from you, nickalicious.

Worst show: Replacements (decidedly drunk) at the Living Room, in 1986

Most memorable: Beat Farmers at the Living Room 1985 or 86. Country Dick, rest his soul, got on top of some guy's shoulders. The guy felt down, Country Dick fell down. With fire in his eyes, he got on top of the bar and started beating the ceiling lamps with a riding stick. He also cut his hand on a beer bottle, went to a hospital emergency room after the show and then skipped out on the bill (so he told the crowd at a show years later).

Let me back up this one -- wonderful set.

Grand Buffet

Lake Trout

2. Charlemagne Palestine at the Purcell Rooms

3. The Jesus and Mary Chain at the Ambulance Station

4. The Swans at the ICA

5. Boredoms at the Royal Festival Hall

6. Jonathan Richman (supporting Orange Juice) at the Hammersmith Palais

7. Big Black/Head of David/World Domination Enterprises at the Hammersmith Clarendon

8. Sonic Youth and pals performing selections from 'Goodbye 20th Century' at the Royal Festival Hall

9. Pavement/E.A.R. at the Kentish Town Forum

10. Mission of Burma at All Tomorrow's Parties

Neil Young.
Wilco/Old 97s - Summerteeth tour.
Grifters/Blonde Redhead
Half Japanese
Pixies/My Dad is Dead
Nihilist Spasm Band with guests at the No Music Festival in London, ON
Spoon/John Vanderslice

I go to a lot of shows, too many to really even remember who I've seen. Many have been good, the above are the best I can think of off the top of my head. A few other good ones from Detroit this past year were
Enon
Natural History/French Kicks
Flaming Lips/Modest Mouse
VHS or Beta/Radio Four
Detroit Cobras

http://empty.org/skinney/corin3.jpg

http://empty.org/skinney/SK.jpg

Belle and Sebastian, 10/30/98 at the Black Cat (DC) (well it was a big deal at the time...)
Magnetic Fields 7/99 Black Cat
Shannon Wright/Mick Turner 11/02 Khyber in Philly
Carla Bozulich, 3/03 Phoenix
Sigur Ros, 4/03 Tempe
Shannon Wright/Dirty Three, Austin 4/03

I guess I saw a lot of good shows last year.

Neko Case was freaking awesome this past weekend, too.

Bowie, Diamond Dogs. Last night of LA stand, he was so coked out and blatherous Luther had to carry him off stage, Angie freaking in the second row.

Roxy, the tour where Bryan wore military stuff. Manazanra played Diamond Head and I had a cow.

Diamonda Galas at some gay dive in Brooklyn, divas shreiking at The Plague Mass.

mel Torme at Joe's Pub.

Low at mercury Lounge: I could hear a guy lighting a Bic.

Every RAMMS+EIN show, of course, but especially when they did Pet Sematary as encore with Johnny, Marky and a guy from The Misfits.

** black flag (greg & dez lineup) -- flynn's, miami beach, 1983
** the band -- button south, ft. lauderdale, 1983
** charlie picket and the eggs, the eat (reunion) -- downtown miami, 1983
** john fahey -- at some little folk club in so. fla., 1983
** don cherry -- lecture at concert at community college in miami, 1984
** john giorno -- solo performance at new music america festival in miami, 1984
** the minutemen -- 2 shows at flynn's, miami beach, 1984
** sun ra / arkestra -- dozens of shows most at the bottom line in nyc, mid to late '80s
** sonic youth -- bard college, halloween, 1986
** fred frith/ john zorn -- duet at this crazy place in times square that had no cover, 1987
** motorhead -- l'amours, queens, 1987
** yo la tengo -- rooftop bbq brittany hall nyu, 1987
** daniel johnston -- the pier platters instore, 1987
** fela -- irving plaza, nyc, 1988 (?)
** mekons -- maxwell's, 1988
** chris knox and the clean -- maxwell's, 1988 (?)
** slovenly -- rehearsal at their practice space, 1988
** art ensemble of chicago -- s.o.b.s, 1988
** pavement -- pyramid club shows, 1988 (or was that '89?)
** world of pooh -- cb's, 1989 (?)
** la monte young with big band -- dia, 1989 i think
** my bloody valentine (the show with j mascis at the mixing board) -- maxwell's, 1989
** sleepyhead, codeine, bratmobile, kicking giant -- sideshows by the seashore, bklyn, 1989
** sun city girls -- 5 shows in northeast, 1990
** faust -- munich germany, 1990 (first show in 15 years!, snippet of which appeared on a 7" i released in c.i.)
** esg -- at that hippie club on the west side, 1991
** zoviet france -- gargoyle mechanique, nyc 1992
** the grifters -- keep refrigerated, wmsbrg, 1993
** cat power, god is my co-pilot -- brownie's, 1994
** gospel hummingbirds -- chattanooga, tn, 1995
** versus -- chattanooga, tn, 1995
** lambchop -- lucy's record shop, nashville, tn 1996
** malcolm goldstein -- solo violin, chattanooga tn 1996
** neutral milk hotel -- 7 shows in 1997/8, throughout the south
** andrew weatherall, chemical brothers -- miami beach, wmc, 1999
** richard thompson -- solo, bumbershoot, seattle 2000(?)
** pole -- aero.space, seattle, 2000
** carissa's wierd -- crocodile, seattle, 2001
** mission of burma -- emp, seattle 2002
** neko case with calexico -- austin, sxsw, 2003
** cass mccombs with the oxxes -- austin, apt. above the head shop, 2003
** a-frames, popular shapes, the intelligence -- zak's/ funhouse, seattle 2003
** sleater-kinney -- showbox, seattle, last month

whatever, i'm fucking deaf now, and will surely develop cancer from the second-hand smoke!