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Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

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bungeejumper
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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#340036

Postby bungeejumper » September 13th, 2020, 2:17 pm

swill453 wrote:Anyone been to a gig in the last 30 years?

Well, I was playing pub gigs thirty years ago. Actually, I'm a little hurt that nobody has recalled my treasured memory yet. :cry:

WRT proper gigs, it's just been jazz. Saxophonist Andy Sheppard was the last. And a fair few chamber music recitals. Do those count?

BJ

Mike88
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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#340041

Postby Mike88 » September 13th, 2020, 2:57 pm

The Beatles, Led Zepelin, Deep Purple, The Yardbirds etc etc are amongst the many I have seen. I played in a band very many years ago and managed to get tickets through the local music shop.

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#340049

Postby AlumniLawn » September 13th, 2020, 5:00 pm

swill453 wrote:Anyone been to a gig in the last 30 years?

:-)

Scott.


Yes! Last week at the Virgin Money
Unity Arena (a socially distanced music event in Newcastle).

Saw Van Morrison- great voice, terrific saxophonist, really tight band but jazzed up too nany of his old hits so they sounded like new releases. Naturally zero interaction with his band or the crowd. Also saw Maximo Park (a big hit with my adult kids) who were excellent.

Hugely successful month of music and something called Bongo Bingo???

robbelg
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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#340050

Postby robbelg » September 13th, 2020, 5:14 pm

Up and coming: We had Hawkwind at our school dance in 1971

Most disappointing : Wings just Bleh

Best live band : The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, they were simply sensational
Also Bob Marley ( turned out that wasn't dry ice smoke ! )
Ian Drury and the Blockheads were great too

Rob

bungeejumper
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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#340062

Postby bungeejumper » September 13th, 2020, 7:34 pm

AlumniLawn wrote:Saw Van Morrison- great voice, terrific saxophonist, really tight band but jazzed up too nany of his old hits so they sounded like new releases. Naturally zero interaction with his band or the crowd.

Aah, what a pity. One of our locals, is Mr VM. (About five miles from here, or a mile from where I used to live.) You have to catch him on the right night, or he can seem rather remote. Better luck next time.

BJ

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#340107

Postby servodude » September 14th, 2020, 12:38 am

Worst gig:
U2 - Celtic Park, absolute lazy sh*** but only marginally so than the Chili Peppers on the BSSM tour (and that was at the Barrowlands so no excuses for that!)
- Sheena Easton at the Big Day out was better - but only because she left the stage before she had a chance to sing

Best gigs:
- Nirvana in 91 and At the Drive In in 2000 both felt like something important
- Philip Glass playing the score to Koyaanisqatsi was magic
- but I saw Big Country at the Barrowlands a few times and there is nothing like it

Before they were famous:
Every band that supported the Fall became bigger than them - I remember Suede supporting them one time at Glasgow City Hall
- about the same time the The Cranberries supported Belly at the QM
- and the Smashing Pumpkins on the bill with Radiohead at King Tuts.
- Mogwai borrowed gear for their first gig (upstairs at the old 13th Note)

Biggest surprise:
- John Martyn in a kitchen

-sd

sloth
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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#340122

Postby sloth » September 14th, 2020, 8:02 am

nimnarb wrote:

Club called I think Whisky a go go or something like that in or near Soho when James Brown appeared


Probably The Scotch Of St. James in Mason's Yard.

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#340768

Postby DrFfybes » September 16th, 2020, 10:15 pm

Best and most surprising gig was Larry Adler in Birmimngham in the mid 1990s. Was talked into it as a mate knew I liked Little Walter and reckoned Aler was the greatest harmonic player ever. Great musician, brilliant raconteur.

Most disappointing gig, hmm, there have been some stinkers, but really it has to be about 4 years ago I droe from Plymouth to Frome to see Bernie Torme. The car park was pretty empty when I arrived, but I wandered into the Cheese and Grain to be met with a chap who said "pound a strip, 6 for a fiver". Then he looked up, clocked the clothing and said "you should have come last night, there was a cracking guitarist on". Not a total waste of an evening though, I didn't win anything on the bingo but I did get a pack of sausages in the meat raffle.

Best up'n'coming was Guns'n'Roses and Faster Pussycat at the Apollo in Manchester in late 1987. Oddly at the time I thought Faster Pussycat blew GnR off stage.

Paul

swill453
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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#340783

Postby swill453 » September 16th, 2020, 11:51 pm

DrFfybes wrote:I wandered into the Cheese and Grain to be met with a chap who said "pound a strip, 6 for a fiver" ... I didn't win anything on the bingo

Ah, bingo. Thought for a minute it was a different kind of live act. Cheap though.

Scott.

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#341104

Postby airbus330 » September 17th, 2020, 11:59 pm

Best ever gig: Al Stewart Year of the Cat Tour @ Hammersmith Odeon. First proper gig with first proper girlfriend.
Most disappointing gig: Dire Straights @ Wembley going through the motions.
Biggest (most famous) band you have seen live: Led Zeppelin @ Knebworth, but Queen were better.
Best live band - ideal for a festival: Slade @ Reading Rock singing Merry Xmas in blazing August.
Biggest surprise (random band you went to see, and they were really good) Alison Moyet in the SU Bar @ Brunel Uni. Simply breathtaking voice.
Famous band you saw when they were 'up and coming': XTC in some old pub in Camden
Weirdest experience (WTF happened there?): Watching The Hellions being beer canned off stage at Reading after about 15 sec of play! Alternative but weirder was Fat Elvis in a bar in Las Vegas.
Gig you wish you could have attended (no age factor, so Woodstock is OK even if you are 26): Live AId. Had tickets but didn't go.DOH!

Still (pre Covid) go to gigs, saw Steve Hackett (Genesis), Queen Tribute, The Musical Box, George Ezra and some more last year.

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#341114

Postby AlumniLawn » September 18th, 2020, 6:37 am

Best band I almost saw was Kaiser Chiefs. I had tickets to their gig in Newcastle for tomorrow night (19th) but it's been canceled due to the reimposition of a mini-lockdown.

Not only that, they were complimentaries!

AleisterCrowley
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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#341147

Postby AleisterCrowley » September 18th, 2020, 9:32 am

Kaiser Chiefs-First band to headline (?) the O2 in London! Although I think Basement Jaxx played later that day??

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#341208

Postby AleisterCrowley » September 18th, 2020, 1:59 pm

bungeejumper wrote:
AlumniLawn wrote:Saw Van Morrison-...


Aah, what a pity. One of our locals, is Mr VM. (About five miles from here, or a mile from where I used to live.) You have to catch him on the right night, or he can seem rather remote. Better luck next time.

BJ


He obviously lives in picturesque Much Twattery, going by his latest material
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54194408
'Northern Ireland's health minister has described three new songs by Sir Van Morrison that protest against coronavirus lockdowns as "dangerous".
In the lyrics, Sir Van claims scientists are "making up crooked facts" to justify measures that "enslave" the population.'

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#341220

Postby RockRabbit » September 18th, 2020, 3:27 pm

Best gig: Toyah Willcox 2010, in some hall which I remember as being in a Brummie industrial estate! Now, I'm no fan of Toyah and I only ended up seeing this, as the gig was off the M6 on the way to a weekend in the Lakes. The hall was half empty and she had recently had leg/hip surgery so was on crutches, not an auspicious start! But there was a great atmosphere and being really close to the front made for a very different experience, a world away from the sterile corporate experience you get at some gigs. Highlight was a cover version of Sweet Child O'Mine.

Worst gig(s): Genesis at (old) Wembley stadium around 1990? Made to wait outside for hours in the blazing sun, totally de hydrated by the time we got in and couldn't get any water. Miles away from the stage - hated every minute. Next worse was Rush in 2013 at O2. Sitting in the top tier, terrible acoustics with the sound bouncing around all over the place. Couldn't wait to leave.

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#341228

Postby AlumniLawn » September 18th, 2020, 4:04 pm

AleisterCrowley wrote:
bungeejumper wrote:
AlumniLawn wrote:Saw Van Morrison-...


Aah, what a pity. One of our locals, is Mr VM. (About five miles from here, or a mile from where I used to live.) You have to catch him on the right night, or he can seem rather remote. Better luck next time.

BJ


He obviously lives in picturesque Much Twattery, going by his latest material
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54194408
'Northern Ireland's health minister has described three new songs by Sir Van Morrison that protest against coronavirus lockdowns as "dangerous".
In the lyrics, Sir Van claims scientists are "making up crooked facts" to justify measures that "enslave" the population.'


I saw that. I questioned whether facts can be "crooked" or any shape at all actually. I I thought they were just er, facts.

bungeejumper
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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#341239

Postby bungeejumper » September 18th, 2020, 4:44 pm

AlumniLawn wrote:
AleisterCrowley wrote:He obviously lives in picturesque Much Twattery, going by his latest material
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54194408
..Sir Van claims scientists are "making up crooked facts" to justify measures that "enslave" the population.'[/i]

I saw that. I questioned whether facts can be "crooked" or any shape at all actually. I I thought they were just er, facts.

AC, AL, just to say that I agree with both of you. Mr Van has spent several Astral Decades trying to cope with - errrrm, whatever it is that he's afflicted with, and apparently it hasn't made him any more approachable, or any less grumpy. On a good night, he's reputed to be magnificent company - which is no compensation for the nights when he's not. His ravings about the lockdown suggest that he's still moondancing. It's all lost on me. :|

BJ

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#341246

Postby ReformedCharacter » September 18th, 2020, 5:24 pm

Saw Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Graham Parker and Joan Armatrading at Blackbushe in 1978. Good time, lovely day, never seen so many people.

RC

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#341256

Postby AleisterCrowley » September 18th, 2020, 6:06 pm

RockRabbit wrote: ...Next worse was Rush in 2013 at O2. Sitting in the top tier, terrible acoustics with the sound bouncing around all over the place. Couldn't wait to leave.



Yes, I had that experience at the O2 (when it opened) - I was high up and the acoustics were pretty poor.
I'm a Rush fan but have only seen them live once, at the NEC Arena on the Signals tour (198?)

I really don't like big arenas - I much prefer fields of various sizes : everything from small festivals to Glasto
Much better atmosphere IMO and you don't get ripped off for food and drink so much
Excluding Reading, the ones I go to /went to allow you to take your own booze, and drink it anywhere including main stages.
I don't do Reading now as I'm TOO OLD. I was too old when I was 35, and now I'm (gulp) 55... :(

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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#349989

Postby eisman » October 23rd, 2020, 12:48 am

Best ever gig: Colosseum - free concert at Manchester University in 1971 to record their Live album.

Most disappointing gig: Alfie Boe at the Bridgewater Hall last year (don't mock - the tickets were a gift). He only has one volume - too loud (this from someone who likes AC/DC).

2nd Most disappointing gig: 10cc at Torquay Town Hall in 1975. Way too loud for that size of venue.

Biggest (most famous) band you have seen live: Pink Floyd, ELP, Derek and the Dominoes

Famous band you saw when they were 'up and coming': Jethro Tull 1969 (with Savoy Brown and Terry Reid on the same bill - the same Terry Reid who turned down Jimmy Page when he was asked to be the singer in Led Zeppelin and suggested Robert Plant instead)

Most recent gig: Beth Hart at the Bridgewater Hall Manchester February 2020. Why this woman isn't a megastar is one of life's greatest mysteries. Check out her concert Live at the Royal Albert Hall on YouTube.

Gig you wish you could have attended (no age factor, so Woodstock is OK even if you are 26): Johnny Winter at the Free Trade Hall 15 February 1971 - the night before my Physics mock O level. I thought last minute revision should take precedence - wasted effort.

bungeejumper
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Re: Best/worst gigs, famous bands seen when they were playing pubs etc

#350011

Postby bungeejumper » October 23rd, 2020, 9:16 am

eisman wrote:Gig you wish you could have attended (no age factor, so Woodstock is OK even if you are 26): Johnny Winter at the Free Trade Hall 15 February 1971 - the night before my Physics mock O level. I thought last minute revision should take precedence - wasted effort.

Ah, Mr Winter. Saw him at the Royal Albert Hall the previous year. It took a lot to get a place that size rocking - Keith Emerson had failed spectacularly! - but we came out at the end positively buzzing, and half deaf. :D First time I realised what an amazing musician his brother Edgar was (and still is, apparently). Here's some of what you missed. Echoey, but stlll terrific. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdpGcSvp5HQ

Saw Colosseum at Birmingham uni, with Chris Farlowe doing vocals. Having spent my formative years around Ronnie Scott's, it was a very different style from John Hiseman's jazz days. None of my friends could quite decide whether he was a great drummer, or whether he just had Jon Mayall's knack for attracting superb musicians? Fantastic big sound, though!

Happy days.

BJ


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