The best gig you didn't go to...

Nope I was wrong (my bride corrected me). It was the summer of 1972. Their first album hadn't been released yet.
 
fat_fleet said:
Pretty much everyone I knew went downtown to see Nirvana and the Melvins in mid September 1991, like a week before Nevermind came out. It was at a 150-capacity venue and like ten bucks to get in. I had only heard a couple cuts off Bleach and thought they were a bland Sabbath knockoff, so I passed on it. Always kinda regretted that one.
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Damn. Pre-Nevermind Nirvana was reportedly exceptional. Their music wasn't meant for arenas or even large venues at all. Pure raw energy is what it was.
 
Jeffrey Lewis and his brother had a gig in a small club here, probably about 50 people in crowd. Found out about it the day after. Probably a once in a lifetime but then again, maybe not.
 
I saw both Nirvana and Green Day before they were famous. Pure raw energy it was not. Full suck is what it was. Green Day's show had about 5 people there.
 
Greg_L said:
I saw both Nirvana and Green Day before they were famous. Pure raw energy it was not. Full suck is what it was. Green Day's show had about 5 people there.
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Really? I feel it right through crappy bootleg recordings like this one:



As for Green Day, I wouldn't expect much.
 
Greg_L said:
They certainly suck now. I still like their earlier stuff. From like Kerplunk to Nimrod, it's pretty good easily digestible pop-punk.
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Yeah, old roomate tried to get me into that stuff... The 1000 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours or whatever when they were on Lookout! and it didn't take. He's dead now. Not cuz he tried to get me into Green Day though.
 
Tadpui said:
I finally caught Wilco last summer on the Americanarama tour with My Morning Jacket and Bob Dylan. I thought they were great, even though their set was a little short due to the 3-band bill.

That reminds me, I missed Bon Iver here at a mid-sized venue right before his album won a grammy. I definitely kicked myself over that one. I saw his Austin City Limits set and was really impressed.

I missed Arcade Fire their first time through Kansas City, when LCD Soundsystem was opening for them. I reeeeaaaallly wish I'd caught that one, it woulda been Sound of Silver era, and would have been a party. I saw Arcade Fire after that with The National, and again last month with Tune-Yards. What a freaking great show! If MP3 albums could wear out, my copy of This Is Happening would be looking kinda thin by now :)

Hope you enjoy NMH, they came through here recently and I didn't go, but I've heard a few friends from around the country say that it was a great show.
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Thanks tadpui. I saw them last night, and they were indeed excellent - lots of swapping instruments, flitting between bass, brass and bow saws mid-song etc. They made a big thing of no audience photography of the band being allowed, which I thought was a bit precious...and a little moot as you could barely see them underneath their huge beards anyway. Jeff Mangum looked like a black hole in a baseball cap.

Definitely worth seeing if the opportunity comes your way.

My Morning Jacket, Dylan & Wilco is a fine looking triple bill - I'd have liked to have seen that...and the LCD/Arcade Fire tour too. I still favour Sound of Silver over This is Happening I think, but that opener on the latter is fucking awesome. The increase in volume still catches me totally by surprise every time the beat finally kicks in - dangerous to drive to :D

I think the best double headers I've seen are either the National and Phosphorescent or Calexico and Iron & Wine. With the latter, they both fed into each other's sets which was really cool.
 
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