Tuesday Tunes: Week 49
You've seen them live: Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, The Temptations, Lollapalooza '92 (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Ice Cube, Soundgarden, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Pearl Jam, and Lush), Ice T and Body Count, Living Colour, Candlebox, Lollapalooza '94 (Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars, The Breeders, A Tribe Called Quest, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, L7, and The Boredoms), R.E.M., Hall & Oates (3 times), Patti Labelle, Gerald Levert, Dido, Travis, The Stylistics, Chris Rock, The Lovin' Spoonful, Felix Cavaliere's Rascals, Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, The Rock 'n' Roll Funhouse Tour (The Knack, The Fixx, and Tommy Tutone), Def Leppard, Journey, India.Arie, and The Police.
Tell us the following:
The best artist you've seen perform live and the worst: (from a musical standpoint)
The best: Gerald Levert at The Fox Theatre in 1999- As the opening act for Patti Labelle, the late Gerald Levert outperformed her... which isn't easy to do. He put on a sweat-soaked soul show that was a throwback to the 60s and 70s. It was apparent that Gerald took mental notes from the many times he watched his father Eddie (a member of The O'Jays) perform over the years.
The worst: None- I've been fortunate enough not to have seen any live performances that I could put in the "worst" category.
The concert with the worst audience: Lollapalooza '92 at The Pine Knob Music Theater- Although this was one of my favorite shows, an incident during the latter half of the all-day festival put a slight damper on things. During Ministry's set, a battle erupted between fans in the pavilion and lawn sections in which they were throwing pieces of turf back and forth. Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen threatened to walk off if the turf war didn't stop. Luckily, the situation calmed down and the show continued.
The most expensive concert: The Police in 2007 at the Palace of Auburn Hills- including taxes, fees, etc., my ticket cost approx. $115.00. Considering it was top level act like the Police, I don't think the price was bad at all.
and
The least expensive: The Lovin' Spoonful in 2001 at Flushing Park- Since she knew I was a big fan of The Spoonful, a friend asked if I wanted to go with her to a free concert they were giving. Because John Sebastian (the original lead singer) was no longer with the band, I was a bit skeptical. However, this turned out to be one of my favorite concert memories. In addition to their hits and lesser known songs, The Lovin' Spoonful also did a medley of tunes by some of their folk-rock contemporaries like The Mamas and Papas, The Association, and The Byrds.
If you'd like to take part by posting your Tuesday Tunes list on your blog, visit Music Memoirs and leave your link in the comments sections so that others can check you out. Another way to participate is to leave your list in the comments section of this post.
7 comments:
115 isn't bad for The Police!! Did you love the show?
Hey, I don't have a Tuesday Tunes list, but I would like to weigh-in on the subject anyway.
I've seen a ton of live shows and the overwhelming majority of them were pretty decent.
If I had to pick my least favorite live show, it would be the club gig put on by one of my favorite female jazz vocalists--Dianne Reeves. I loved her voice and the music, but I really wasn't feeling her song selections on that particular night. She spent way too much time doing her "new" material not enough on her old.
I also got kinda miffed when I attended a jazz concert with a number of performers, Will Downing and Rachelle Ferrell among them. Downing and Ferrell had a slamming duet out at the time "Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This" and for whatever reason, they chose not to perform it. Overall, I loved the concert, but their decision not to sing their duet still makes me grind my teeth.
The best live performance? Prince! I saw His Purple Badness twice back in the '80s. Once with Shelia E. and the Time and the other with Time and Vanity 6. Yeah, those were the days (smile).
One other performer I've seen several times live is Al Jarreau. He comes in a close 2nd after Prince, as far as putting on a nice show.
You know this topic was right down my alley, Malcolm (smile). Way to go!
I saw Jesus and Mary Chain in 93 or 94--good show!
Your bad audience experience...LOL throwing turf. Wow. :D
Nats the Name: The Police show was outstanding! If you'd like to read my review of the show, please visit the link below:
http://popculturedish.blogspot.com/2007/07/review-police-concert-at-palace-of.html
Lori: I think it's a mistake when artists concentrate too much on their new material at the expense of their older stuff. I can understand them wanting to test out some of the new stuff, but they have to realize that fans are there to hear the old songs.
For Rachelle and Will not to do a duet of their then current song makes no sense to me. They sound like the opposite of Dianne Reeves.
Damn, you saw Prince not only in his prime, but twice too! Although I have never seen him in person, I've checked out enough of his live performances on TV to know that he's one of the best.
Thanks for taking the time to share some of your concert memories.
Jessica: I've been pretty fortunate in that I haven't had any bad concert experiences besides the turf incident. If you wanna read some horror concert stories, visit some of the other bloggers who took part in the Tuesday Tunes. Here is the link to the Music Memoirs site:
http://musicmemoirs.blogdrive.com/
Hmmm. Can't pass up a chance to declare that George Michael put on a fabulous concert....
Ironically, the one song I didn't think was that great that GM sang was "Roxanne" by The Police. His version was too slow and depressing.
I haven't been to that many concerts, but I've always wanted to see Dave Matthews Band and The Eagles live.
Thriving Holly: Who is this George Michael guy you keep talking about??
Seriously, it's not only a great feeling to see one of your favorites in concert, but when they also live up to expectations (or exceed them).
I had never heard George's version of "Roxanne" until now (I found the video on Cyber Crack). I'm really digging his slowed down jazzy version... I think it fits with the song's subject matter.
DMB is one of those groups that although I'm not a huge fan, I'd still really enjoy seeing live.
The turf-ripping thing continued at PK for some time. I think the place altered booking policies based upon that: it seems certain music fans are geeky and thuggish. Who would have guessed? After all, it's only music, not a reason for vandalism. The '94 Lolla show there was primo.
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