we have books in process; movies you recently saw; shows you are bingeing; music for all you funkingded lovers to rock out to; etc.
Live musical shows you are soon to see or just saw.
3/4 - Titus Andronicus; opening act Country Westerns. great show. +@ (as the kids call em) brought it w a tight set. Had not ever heard of CW but will see them again this summer. Venue was a 350 capacity place and was close to that. Was super cool and will see again as soon as possible.
3/5 Springsteen & E Street band - 16-25 yr old me might have lost my mind but old me said “i’ve never seen them and figure this is a last chance” and it was good. I had never seen bruce. was a very good career-spanning set. they bring energy and just rock out for 150 minutes straight. huge stage of performers (18 total counting horns and backing vocals) and they sell the idea that they are really enjoying playing all these songs you know. 20K plus venue. was cool. do not need to return but would encourage others to.
Also, sorry that he did not do a full 3-hour show. Guess he’s slowing down. Tour local paper (online) said it was 165 minutes.
Springsteen’s 2¾-hour performance was the most rewarding, spirited and fulfilling late-career Twin Cities concert probably ever by a rock icon of long standing. He was more energetic and in better voice than Paul McCartney. He had more compelling recent new tunes than Elton John. He played way longer than the Rolling Stones. And he covered a greater range of material than Bob Dylan.
I’ve stopped planning to go because I’m not paying whatever Ticketmaster is charging at first. But, might try to snag last-minute seats for under $100.
As for me: saw Post-Modern Jukebox a few months ago. Very fun.
g-lassie is in the same boat, never seen The Boss and figuring this might be the last chance. I’ve seen him a couple times–2003ish and 2009 @ Bonnaroo–and both were pretty memorable. Glad to hear he still brings the heat.
I have similar feelings about Sir Paul, I’ve sworn to myself if he ever comes around the Midwest again I will pay whatever price it takes to get in. Ideally it would be at a festival setting so I could surround myself with friends.
This year is surprisingly light for concert plans thus far. I’m sure things will pick back up this summer. I’ve also been considering making a trip to Europe as some of my favorite acts have international tours scheduled and from past experience it’s extremely fun seeing a favorite band play overseas.
The last show I saw was Built to Spill, which was a fantastic time. I saw them a while back at Red Rocks, this was a small show here in Lawrence, maybe a couple of hundred people.
The Mountain Goats are coming here next month and I’m contemplating it. I’m not a huge fan but they are a fun band and it’s also at a small venue - though not the same place Built to Spill played.
My only two musical performances in the last decade were
Simple Minds which I saw in Paris in 2017 and Joe Jackson who came here locally (Des Moines).
Weird Al is on my wish list, he’s been around before and I should have taken advantage but he’s pretty popular so I’m hoping he returns. He’ll be in Europe, Australia, and Hawaii for the remainder of 2023Q1 so that’s out.
The last time I saw Sir Paul in concert he was older than Springsteen is now and Paul did almost a three hour concert without a break. His voice was not 1960’s Paul but he still does a great concert. Would go see him, Neil Young and Carole King again as they are still great performers despite their ages.
I have sensory stuff, so live music is stressful for me. The last two concerts I went to were both Owl City, one about 5 years ago, the other about 10 years ago. Owl City is my favorite musician, so that was fun, but the second one was in a cramped indoor venue and that was pretty stressful.
No plans to go to any concerts the rest of my life. I envy people who can enjoy them; my sister drops probably $5k a summer on concerts, she doesn’t have a single weekend free. I think she just likes concerts and doesn’t care much who she seeing.
Saw They Might Be Giants last night. Awesome show, some new songs, all of Flood (I am likely to be hoarse today). Two sets, about 2:10 of music, no opening act, just them. A couple of technical snafus, but they joked it off pretty funnily. Good crowd interaction, like you’d expect from a band that’s been around as long as they have.they played Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love in reverse in the first set after saying "we were bored on the bus so we learned this song in reverse. The second set opened with a video of that song from the first set played in reverse.
They did a very good job on it. they will be on kimmel soon. Also if you are in Nashville tonight, the next show is not sold out. Get your tickets now!
Going to Thursday of Louder Than Life in Louisville this September and taking our teenage children. Several good bands I want to see that day including
Foo Fighters
Weezer
311
Royal Blood
Should be a blast and Foo Fighters always put on an unbelievable show.
Last show we saw was B-52s, lots of fun, great to see the fans dressed up. We paid for the nosebleeds but a friend who unsuccessfully tried to scalp an orchestra section seat gave it to us for free.
Also recently saw Billy Joel, Lionel Ritchie and Sheryl Crow on one ticket - got a great deal.
But don’t go to as many shows as we used to, ticket prices for the top acts are crazy expensive now, and often we get stuck sitting near people who are constantly chatting and/or have their phones up in the hope that they will get a recording that is better than YouTube. Going to a bar and hearing a cover band is a much better deal IMO.
I tend to agree about the value of seeing smaller bands at smaller venues. I am lucky to have a variety of friends that are amazing musicians, and the older I get the more I prefer just going to see them play instead of shelling out hundreds to stand in a packed arena where I can barely see or hear anything well.