Favorite Concerts

I was looking through some old concert ticket stubs the other day. I've kept them for every concert that I've ever seen. Probably just a silly compulsion. But when I look at them, it momentarily carries me back to that little slice of time. Music seems to have that ability to attach itself to events in your life. Kind of like a soundtrack.

I thought I'd try to figure out what I considered to be the 10 favorite concerts out of the 100+ that I'd attended. Couldn't narrow it down. So we have a baker's dozen (13). Not necessarily the best sounds or the best performance. It doesn't have to be the best lineup or venue ... though in some cases it was. These were the ones that I considered to be the best "experiences". A combination of band, performance, venue, songs, who I was with, how I was feeling that day. Here goes, in chronological order:

Def Leppard/Tesla -- Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA -- November 7, 1987
This is the first concert that I ever went to. I was a freshman at Iowa State University and attended this with my brother. I was still in the process of working out of my pop music/new wave phase that I'd endured in my teens. At this point, I was somewhere in between Duran Duran and Ministry. I certainly won't try to tout Def Leppard as being anything other than it was ... catchy pop metal. But we had a blast. Seating was "in-the-round" with the stage in the middle of the arean. We were in the first row of the first deck. Probably only about 60 feet from stage. This was on the Hysteria tour and they played all the obligatory anthems off of that and Pyromania.

Metallica/Cult -- Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA -- June 11, 1989
By this time at college, I was fully immersed in my heavier music stage, listening to a steady dose of Metallica, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, etc. And this was the first time that I got to see Metallica. This was on the ... And Justice for All tour. They played for a long time and had great imagery and props, including a collapsing statue of the classic image of justice. (per anon. request, here's a scan of the ticket)




Clash of the Titans -- Civic Auditoreum, Omaha, Nebraska -- June 6, 1991
One of the best lineups of a show that I'd ever been to: Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth and Alice in Chains. When you first see Alice in Chains listed there, you think they are a bit out of place. They were an up-and-coming band at the time. They could have been easily intimidated by the more established and loud fans of the other bands, but they were up to the task and played awesome. I'm glad I got to see them then as they very rarely toured because of singer Layne Staley's numerous drug rehab stints (and eventual death).
Slayers fans are a completely different breed and were by far the loudest. If there was a house band for hell, Slayer would be that band. They were incredible. Anthras was great too and was the most party-oriented band there. The day of the concert, my brother and I saw the drummer Charlie Benante at a record store in old town Omaha and we went up and got his autograph.
Megadeth was the main band that we were going to see and we were able to work our way up to the stage for their set. Great performance and I think my ears are still ringing.



Red Hot Chili Peppers/Pearl Jam/Smashing Pumpkins -- C.Y. Stephens, Ames, IA -- October 19, 1991
As they say, it's sometimes better to be lucky than good. We bought tickets for this show as soon as they went on sale because the venue was small (about 1500 seats) and the Chili Peppers were very popular at the time. We didn't know much about the opening bands at the time and almost showed up late for that reason. Luckily, we did show up on time and caught awesome sets by two little bands you may have heard of ... Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins. This was the tour for the Pepper's Mother's Milk, PJ's Ten, and Pumpkins' Gish albums. Like I said, we were morons but lucky morons.

Prong -- The Roxy, Phoenix, AZ -- October 26, 1994
Prong for many years was my pet band. I saw them probably half a dozen times in little over a year. I had first been exposed to them in college accidentally. My college roommates and I were visiting a hole-in-the-wall record shop in Iowa City (home of the University of Iowa) and I saw a Prong CD single with artwork by the classic metal artist Pushead. You usually see his work on Metallica t-shirts. Anyway, having never even heard of Prong, I bought the CD, went home and listened to it and was hooked. It was very primal, bare-bones metal. Post-industrial.

This show at the Roxy was particularly good and we got right up to the front of the stage and I was able to shake singer/guitarist Tommy Victor's hand.



Tammy Wynette -- Don's Celebrity Theatre, Laughlin, NV -- February 11, 1995
I know ... this listing seems kinda incongruous, but there's a reason. We went to this show with my folks at the Riverside Casino in Laughlin Nevada. This is one of those classic dinner theaters that you would imagine Frank Sinatra appearing at. It was nice being able to sit at a table, have a drink or two and enjoy the show. My parents bought the tickets. We had a suprisingly good time. The highlight was actually getting to meet Ms. Wynette after the show and get her autograph. She was very nice and had none of the usual celebrity trappings.

R.E.M/Luscious Jackson -- Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ -- May 5, 1995
The only time that I have seen R.E.M. Blockbuster (now Cricket Pavilion) is an outside venue that can hold 20,000 or more. It was a bit warm even in May. But it was worth it as R.E.M played for 2 hours plus and were consummate showmen.

Ministry -- Mesa Amphitheatre, Mesa, AZ -- May 11, 1996
I've never seen so much black clothing in one location. Ministry was the first heavy band that I liked in college but they never came to Ames when I was there. I finally saw them in Mesa and was not disappointed. Pure aggression.

Lollapalooza -- Compton Terrace, AZ -- July 27, 1996
Dusty, hot, windy, sweaty pit in the middle of the desert. We had thunderstorms and 108 degree weather. Not my favorite venue but it seemed oddly apropos with a band lineup of Rancid, Devo, Ramones, Soundgarden, Metallica. My only band disappointment was the abreviated set by Soundgarden. They were irritated that some fans had booed the Ramones, who had preceded them. And I agree with SG on this one. It was my first chance at seeing either SG or the Ramones and was appreciative of the opportunity. The Ramones only performed 5 more concerts in their career after this one and I was lucky enough to be there. To be able to see both the Ramones and Devo together was special.

Rage Against the Machine/Foo Fighters -- Mesa Amphitheatre, Mesa, AZ -- September 26, 1996
Another show in one of my favorite venues. This was the perfect combination of two great bands at the height of their game and with similar political leanings. One of the great things about them, though, is that they would never do political posturing during a show. They would let their music speak. I've heard much more poltical garbage and jingoism at the few country concerts that I've attended.

The highlight of the show was the surprise appearance of local resident Maynerd Keenan of Tool (he lives in Jerome, I believe) during Know Your Enemy.

Bruce Springsteen -- Gammage Auditorium, Tempe, AZ -- October 21, 1996
Great sound. This was on his one-man acoustic Ghost of Tom Joad tour. Just him and a guitar. Very evocative of a Bob Dylan show. Ghost of Tom Joad is probably my favorite album of his. The title is an obvious reference to the John Steinbeck classic, The Grapes of Wrath. And the songs are all similarly relating to the plight of the working man. The only other person to appear on stage at this show was his longtime guitarist Nils Lofgren (who lives in Scottsdale) who played for a song or two.

Faith No More -- Electric Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ -- October, 1997
Another great venue. The stage is at the bottom of a bowl in the middle. No seat in the house is more than 75 feet from stage. I had loved Faith No More since college but this was the first time that I got to see them. Opening band Limp Bizkit was understandably forgettable. This was before they hit it big. Their cover of George Michaels's Faith was high-energy and entertaining enough. But the real reason that I came was Faith No More. I believe they were one of the most underrated bands out there. They consistently suprised with every album. Never sticking to a formula and never pandering to the mainstream. Interesting side note: I saw Michael Moore in this same venue prior to the elections of '04.



Slipknot/Lamb of God/Shadows Fall -- Glendale, AZ -- April 6, 2005
Slipknot are fellow corn-fed Iowa boys. You wouldn't know it from seeing them. They are a scary 9 piece band straight from the bowels of hell. I'm fairly large (6'1", 225) but I feared for my life at this show. It was awesome. See here for a review. Shadows Fall and Lamb of God also performed.

I'd be curious to hear some of your favorite concert experiences.