was just something else entirely. A few things stick in the mind, my rib cage vibrating throughout it was so loud, the destruction of all their equipment after the first song and the look of utter horror on the faces of a group of girls next to me.
Hail To The Thief tour. Didn't really get them until I saw / heard them live. They did indeed sound incredible. Seen them twice since but neither time has been as good, their live peak?
so I can't compare it to their more recent shows (were a bit pricey for me). It was a special gig though, I felt that their live performances of the Hail to the Thief tracks were vastly better than the album versions.
Searching With My Good Eye Closed
Hands All Over
Drawing Flies
Room a Thousand Years Wide
Gun
Flower
Little Joe
Big Dumb Sex
Face Pollution
Incessant Mace
Rusty Cage
Outshined
Mind Riot
Beyond the Wheel
Into the Void
Jesus Christ Pose
Somewhere
Slaves + Bulldozers
Had never seen him before and after seening other "legends" before (Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson) that were good but clearly past their best I was blow away just how amazing Prince was especially as he play a near 3 hour set.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ The London Astoria 22/11/2005
Devil’s Waitin’
Fault Line
Restless Sinner
Shuffle Your Feet
Ain’t No Easy Way
Love Burns
White Palms
Screaming Gun
Punk Song
Howl
Sympathetic Noose
High/Low
As Sure As The Sun
Weight Of The World
Ha Ha High Babe
Awake
Red Eyes & Tears
Six Barrel Shotgun
Gospel Song
In Like The Rose
Rifles
Too Real
Still Suspicion Holds You Tight
Promise
---------------------------------------
Spread Your Love
Fail-Safe
Stop
The Line
Salvation
Heart + Soul
Open Invitation
Fugazi supported by Shellac- Stratford rex 1999
Inspiral Carpets Reading Festival 1990. Im not a massive fan but they were just fuck brilliant, just on fire.
Faith No More Brixton Real Thing tour, was filmed for the DVD.
But probably The White Stripes at The Point in Oxford in July 2001. It was just before they suddenly got big, on the hottest day of a hot summer, playing in a venue which is basically just a small room above a pub. Jam packed,with a palpable sense of excitement in the air and sweat dripping from the ceiling.
Great gigs are often about catching a band at just the right moment. Another one I remember is Happy Mondays at Manchester University in (I think) 1989, just after they had had their first proper hit with Hallelujah. They played for about 40 intense minutes but were superb
I think you're onto something here. Great gigs are mirrored, ABSOLUTELY, at catching the right band at the right time - guess this still applies today and hopefully forever more. Also a great gig in sweltering heat adds something maybe.
Rocket From The Crypt @ Manchester Academy 1995
The Jesus Lizard, Grails & Harvey Milk @ The Forum 2009
Ned's Atomic Dustbin @ Sheffield Boardwalk 2004
I'm still going with the Hard On's at The Fulham Greyhound circa '88 (or the Hot gig as it's often referred to). I really doubt I'll ever see a better live performance in my lifetime. Sales wise they never achieved much but they were an incredible live band.
I've got a soft spot for the Nirvana 1st Reading appearance and their gig preceding it at Goldwyns. Great band, still miss them.
First band I ever really got into, but I was just too young to be able to go see them.
My old housemate's dad was a friend of the guy that used to run the Riverside in Newcastle, and as he had a big house, the Pixies and Nirvana (and others) stayed over at his place when they played the city.
I've always loved the Nirvana 'break through' period (From Sliver to Smells Like..). Something so magical about them at that period. They had so much good will from fans who were so happy they broke through. Can't think of a period from any band that comes close. Essential gigs.
it was later than 92. The one where it snowed heavily during the gig and there was a HUGE snowball fight outside. Total magic.
Also saw Fugazi just before they released Repeater. When they played the not yet released 'Blueprint' jaws literally dropped open. then they played a stormer from Margin Walker and the venue literally blew apart (just gave me goosebumps even typing that!).
Check Your Head Tour Hummingbird Brum. They were fantastic also at Reading when they were getting less name checked (same day Nirvana headlined on their last UK show).
The Fugazi gig was actually May 1992. This thread has reminded me to picked the gig up from the live series.
1. Reclamation
2. Sieve-Fisted Find
3. And The Same
4. Two Beats Off
5. Interlude 1
6. Facet Squared
7. Rend It
8. Promises
9. Margin Walker
10. Waiting Room
11. Burning
12. Burning Too
13. Interlude 2
14. Exit Only
15. KYEO
16. Blueprint
17. Shut the Door
18. Encore 1
19. Dear Justice Letter
20. Repeater
21. Outro
That's what a great gig is all about. Saw a few bands as a kid and that whole getting onstage / stagediving thing / chatting to the band is what real memories are made of. Totally agree re fuck any reformations too. Kudos.
godspeed in some weird derelict community center in Munich. genuinely think anyone seeing them then would have been blown away, now even as a big fan I find them to be extremely tedious
Sigur Ros, Union Chapel 2000
Happy Mondays, Lancaster Sugar House 1989
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Brixton Academy 2001
Tindersticks, Bloomsbury Theatre 1995
Tom Waits, Hammersmith Apollo 2004
MBV, several dates on the Loveless tour 1992
Depeche Mode, Birmingham NEC 1986 (my first ever gig)
Edwyn Collins at B&S ATP 2010. So much love in the room, Teenage Fanclub as backing band. Magic.
Jens Lekman at Union Chapel 2010. Seemed to be euphoric. It's the venue as much as anything else though. I love Union Chapel so much.
Possible sub thread: best gig by a band you've never heard before.
Mine would be the Holy Ghost revival at my local community center, for some reason the hardcore types decided to put them on a bill. Musically nothing special but amazing performance crowd interaction, at one point three members of the band crowd surfing while playing, the singer getting right in peoples faces, a sofa full if people sliding across the floor.
Just before Takk came out. The only gig I've ever been to on my own yet so moving and emotional.
Lots of mentions of Sigur Ros, I really liked them but the first time I saw them (first atp) it was too much and I got sick of them, like overdoing it on a food and never wanting to eat it ever again. Later at that atp my drunk friend spotted the singer by his twee jumper went up to him and and in a comedy falsetto sang 'it's yoooooeeeeeooooouuuuw' now I can never break that association
Queens of the Stone Age with Nick Oliveri back in 2003 or sth, at V Festival (!) on the SFTD Tour. I also saw them in 2005 at Koko when they played THE BRONZE and MEXICOLA as an encore. No Nic though, so this one pips it.
Mogwai outside one balmy summer's evening at Somerset House around 2007 or sutin. Magnificent, emotional and heartbreakingly beautiful. Aidan Moffat came out to do R U Still In 2 It.
Ben Frost and Roly Porter at la gaité lyrique in 2012. best sound in Paris, venue mostly empty, but the performance was spellbinding, just Ben and a drummer I think. Felt like the sound was coming out of the walls. Incredible, O God Protect Me nearly moved me to actual tears.
Flying Lotus doing his oneoff fullband thing at the ICA. Thundercat on bass, plus a violin and a harpist playing stuff off Cosmogramma. Pure fusion Ninja Tune 2000s vibes. Incredible.
Sandwell District back in 2011. Regis and Function managed to make the hardest techno still swing with a little EBM funk. 'nuff said
Also tempted to put in Peter Brötzmann and Steve Noble from last week but it needs to weather the test of time. It was really special though.
Reformed Jesus Lizard and Sleep at ATP (what a weekend), Polvo, Earth with the worst hangover of my life, The Dead 'Fuckin' C x2, Sir Richard Bishop blowing Swans off the stage, Enablers, Colin Stetson blowing Glenn Branca off the stage...
last-pre reformation Comets on Fire gig at the Luminaire, when he clambered on stage from the audience and started to kick it with them on the final 15 minute freakout. Definitely makes the top three.
...when they'd first reformed. Had seen them before in the 90s, but I just enjoyed that gig loads more. It was before they started doing gigs every few months, and it really felt like a one off.
And I have to admit, a couple of my other favourites have been ATP ones. No Age when Bob Mould came on and they did some Husker Du songs was pretty amazing. Also loved the Company Flow reunion show at Alexandra Palace, but I was pissed out of my tiny mind.
One of a few bands that could (and clearly did) pull this off mind. Can recall J Mascis vomiting mid guitar solo at a Brum gig circa '91 and just carrying on as if nothing had happened - it was a decent amount of vomit - weirdly thats all I remember about them live. Saw 'em twice in quick succession.
Also caught Husker Du twice (Candy Apple Grey - Powerhouse gig) and their final U.K. show at Glastonbury 87 I think. Fuckin' amazing live band.
...until Where You Been came out, so when they reformed they performed more of the material that I really liked. Honestly, I find the majority of gigs I go to a bit of a let down, by they were really amazing at the Forum. When they started playing the intro to The Lung I actually got goosebumps.
Was funny - I thought I was being really clever leaving through the fire escape at the end, then my 2 mates arrived at the pub with these really nice screenprints from the merch table and thought it was hilarious that I missed them. One mate stopped for a wee on the way home, but accidentally dropped the poster and pissed all over it. Then, at Kentish Town, the other mate dropped his on the tracks as the tube pulled in. LOLZ.
from You're Living All Over Me and Bug live circa '90 / '91 was SO DAMN LOUD. Even though these days they are lumped together with the Sub-Pop bands they really were, back then, seen as like the godfathers of that scene. Amazing guitarist and slacker vomiter extraordinaire..
Arctic Monkeys at Birmingham Academy 2 August 2005. The atmosphere was like nothing else, I think everyone knew it was a special occasion, that they were a band who were about to blow up. I went with a couple of friends, met up with a few folk who posted on the band's original fan forum beforehand, people im still friends with today.
I found out a couple of years ago that the venue capacity was capped at 400 (usually held 600+) at the band's request, and they had the sides of the room boarded up, so it felt even more intimate. I've seen the band a few times since, but nothing will ever beat that experience.
Prince at the O2, London in 2007
A great weekend spent in London with my brother, capped off by an incredible performance from Prince. Getting to see Maceo Parker on sax on stage too. Not a lot else I can say, it was just a great show.
AC/DC LG Arena Birmingham in 2009
When the tickets went on sale I spent nearly 3 hours with no luck trying to get them, and eventually had to give up when it was announced as sold out. A couple of months later (on my birthday) a mate of mine rang me to say he'd got hold of a ticket for me from a friend of his who had a spare. Roll round a month before the show and I get a message from another mate asking if I was still looking for a ticket, as he found himself with a spare, so I bought it for my brother as a birthday present (and leaving home gift as he had just bought his first house with his now wife and was moving a month or so after)
I've never been a massive fan of arena shows, but AC/DC absolutely blew the roof off the place, from the train bursting through the screens onto the stage, to the band's performance, it was incredible. Again getting to watch it with my brother was an amazing experience.
and a relatively early AM gig sounds cool. Saw AC/DC in 2000 (same venue) and they command an arena like few bands can. Angus Young doing a massive guitar solo in a see through ball suspended in the air floating over the venue. V cool.
Radiohead at Oxford South Park 2001 supported by Supergrass, Beck and Sigur Ros
Joanna Newsom at Royal Albert Hall 2007
Fugazi x 3 Forum 2002
MBV 1st warm up show at the ICA 2008
Butthole Surfers at Reading was one of the WORST things I've ever seen, but maybe that was the point. Happy Mondays at Glastonbury was a shambles too, they were wasted beyond belief- maybe you were too Charlie?
Ones that always come to mind are Iggy Pop in Birmingham 1991. Not a big fan but the best rock n roll show evah. David Bowie at NEC 2001, I went a bit gay for Dave that night, pure perfection. Cocteau Twins Sheffield City Hall 1990 my girlfriend was in tears at 'the beauty of her voice'
Tune-Yards at Green Man 2012, genius in effect and White Denim Bristol 2013 the most astonishing performance from the tightest band I've ever seen. It's all subjective though isn't it.
Cardiacs at the Astoria about 1987 I think.
Butthole Surfers, Reading 1988 ish?
Earl Brutus, somewhere in Hammersmith
I've never seen Butthole Surfers
One of a very few bands I genuinely missed live, not sure why, they must have been awesome circa '88.
Yeah, I wouldn't want to see them these days
But fuck, back in the day... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBAwosQT1JU
I saw them at Brixton around the same time too but that Reading gig
was just something else entirely. A few things stick in the mind, my rib cage vibrating throughout it was so loud, the destruction of all their equipment after the first song and the look of utter horror on the faces of a group of girls next to me.
Yeah nowadays it just wouldn't be the same
Have you read this btw? About their fight with Touch & Go.
Felt properly ashamed for picking up the reissues of the first three records after reading it.
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/touch-and-go-v-the-buttholes/Content?oid=898923
Yes I remember this, think there was a thread about it a few years ago.
It certainly leaves a nasty taste, real shame they were utter twats about this.
Radiohead.
Radiohead at the AECC in '03
Amazing gig. They even played the Creep! With drums! Although now that I think about it, it was probably just Jonny doing some clever guitar sounds.
Saw them on this tour (Manc Apollo)
Hail To The Thief tour. Didn't really get them until I saw / heard them live. They did indeed sound incredible. Seen them twice since but neither time has been as good, their live peak?
It's the only time I've seen them
so I can't compare it to their more recent shows (were a bit pricey for me). It was a special gig though, I felt that their live performances of the Hail to the Thief tracks were vastly better than the album versions.
Agreed
I think that tour benefitted from the 'small venue' thing massively. never seen fans so loved up.
The Wrens, Birmingham Academy 3, 2005 sort of time
Tiny venue. Low ceiling. Absolute chaos. God I miss that band.
Or Boredoms at the Jeff Mangum ATP
That was the most stunned I've been by a live performance.
I'm predictable, but consistent!
Tool @ Brixton Academy 11/06/2001
The Grudge
Stinkfist
Forty Six & 2
Prison Sex
Schism
Pushit
Disposition
Reflection
Schism (video)
Sober
Parabol
Parabola
Aenema
Lateralus
The 1st of 2 consecutive nights at Brixton. I prefer this set list to the following night.
The Grudge
Stinkfist
Eulogy
Schism
Swamp Song
Disposition
Reflection
Schism (video)
Sober
Parabol
Parabola
Eon Blue Apocalypse
The Patient
Opiate
Lateralus
I was at that first one. Great gig
The first time that Arcade Fire played the UK.
It was at King's College in 2005. Heads and shoulders above anything I saw previous or subsequent.
I was at that
Was indeed good...
I was at the ULU gig not long after that one.
Unbelievably good.
Soundgarden @ The Underworld, Camden on the Badmotorfinger Tour was pretty special too!
Soundgarden @ The Underworld 12/03/1992
Searching With My Good Eye Closed
Hands All Over
Drawing Flies
Room a Thousand Years Wide
Gun
Flower
Little Joe
Big Dumb Sex
Face Pollution
Incessant Mace
Rusty Cage
Outshined
Mind Riot
Beyond the Wheel
Into the Void
Jesus Christ Pose
Somewhere
Slaves + Bulldozers
Prince Headlining the Hop Farm Festival 2011
Had never seen him before and after seening other "legends" before (Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson) that were good but clearly past their best I was blow away just how amazing Prince was especially as he play a near 3 hour set.
^Prince at hop farm was fucking immense!!!
Bob Dylan - Barrowlands
The Rapture - La Zona Rosa
Arcade Fire - Barrowlands/Prince - Hop Farm
i'll go with this one or sigur ros at latitude
3rd favourite gig ever. Salvation sent shivers up & down my spine.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ The London Astoria 22/11/2005
Devil’s Waitin’
Fault Line
Restless Sinner
Shuffle Your Feet
Ain’t No Easy Way
Love Burns
White Palms
Screaming Gun
Punk Song
Howl
Sympathetic Noose
High/Low
As Sure As The Sun
Weight Of The World
Ha Ha High Babe
Awake
Red Eyes & Tears
Six Barrel Shotgun
Gospel Song
In Like The Rose
Rifles
Too Real
Still Suspicion Holds You Tight
Promise
---------------------------------------
Spread Your Love
Fail-Safe
Stop
The Line
Salvation
Heart + Soul
Open Invitation
I went to this...
Much prefer BMRC when they do smaller venues - seen them at Brixton a few times and it's never great unfortunately.
Boredoms at ATP
Thing is, I have never listened to them since.
Your loss tbh mate
Lived up to their name then?
I have few
Fugazi supported by Shellac- Stratford rex 1999
Inspiral Carpets Reading Festival 1990. Im not a massive fan but they were just fuck brilliant, just on fire.
Faith No More Brixton Real Thing tour, was filmed for the DVD.
*fucking
A few contenders, but probably
But probably The White Stripes at The Point in Oxford in July 2001. It was just before they suddenly got big, on the hottest day of a hot summer, playing in a venue which is basically just a small room above a pub. Jam packed,with a palpable sense of excitement in the air and sweat dripping from the ceiling.
Great gigs are often about catching a band at just the right moment. Another one I remember is Happy Mondays at Manchester University in (I think) 1989, just after they had had their first proper hit with Hallelujah. They played for about 40 intense minutes but were superb
Saw the Mondays in Lancaster on that tour
Fucking INCREDIBLE.
I always remember that night as a lesson in how shorter is usually better in gigs
Yes
I think you're onto something here. Great gigs are mirrored, ABSOLUTELY, at catching the right band at the right time - guess this still applies today and hopefully forever more. Also a great gig in sweltering heat adds something maybe.
It
Tough to pick out one time, but i'd probably these bands are responsible for the bext gigs i've ever been to:
1. Arcade Fire
2. Blur
3. Radiohead
4. Muse
5. Pulp
It
Tough to pick out one time, but i'd probably these bands are responsible for the bext gigs i've ever been to:
1. Arcade Fire
2. Blur
3. Radiohead
4. Muse
5. Pulp
probably these
Rocket From The Crypt @ Manchester Academy 1995
The Jesus Lizard, Grails & Harvey Milk @ The Forum 2009
Ned's Atomic Dustbin @ Sheffield Boardwalk 2004
these
Fleet Foxes @ Hammersmith Apollo 2011
Arcade Fire @ Hyde Park 2011
Queens of the Stone Age @ Wembley Arena 2013
and these
Neil young
Explosions in the sky
Josh t Pearson
Sufjan Stevens @ Manchester Apollo / August 2012
Watched on my own in the balcony. Blew me away.
is the correct answer
My stock answer is always
Sweep the leg Johnny in Leeds, at some hotel, 2001 maybe. Incredible.
Squarepusher at the ATP he played about 2 in the morning. He always delivers so I know it wasn't just the substance abuse I put myself through.
Sleep ally pally just because I'd waited so long to see them.
Stars of the Lid,
Leeds Holy Trinity Church in 2008.
GY!BE Que Club Birmingham 2002 - next to the stage..Stunning
Closely followed by Sigur Ros on the ( ) tour and Arcade Fire at a small gig on their first tour...
Some good calls above (all)
I'm still going with the Hard On's at The Fulham Greyhound circa '88 (or the Hot gig as it's often referred to). I really doubt I'll ever see a better live performance in my lifetime. Sales wise they never achieved much but they were an incredible live band.
I've got a soft spot for the Nirvana 1st Reading appearance and their gig preceding it at Goldwyns. Great band, still miss them.
This is proper awesome, isn't it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7q-0yq-lRQ
First band I ever really got into, but I was just too young to be able to go see them.
My old housemate's dad was a friend of the guy that used to run the Riverside in Newcastle, and as he had a big house, the Pixies and Nirvana (and others) stayed over at his place when they played the city.
Imagine that, as a 13 year old.
Oh, and the audio from the Goldwyn's gig is online
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGMNuY8BRBg
Wow
Never heard the Goldwyns gig since the actual show. Low sound recording but who cares. Cheers :)
This one, from a couple of years earlier at the Astoria is a lot better quality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdcHJo4Z8UE
Cheers again
I've always loved the Nirvana 'break through' period (From Sliver to Smells Like..). Something so magical about them at that period. They had so much good will from fans who were so happy they broke through. Can't think of a period from any band that comes close. Essential gigs.
One to these....
Beastie Boys/Blues Explosion - Wolverhampton 1992 (?)
Fugazi - Nottingham Poly 5/1991
Mudhoney/Hole - Leadmill 1992
Was at the Beasties Wolves gig
it was later than 92. The one where it snowed heavily during the gig and there was a HUGE snowball fight outside. Total magic.
Also saw Fugazi just before they released Repeater. When they played the not yet released 'Blueprint' jaws literally dropped open. then they played a stormer from Margin Walker and the venue literally blew apart (just gave me goosebumps even typing that!).
That was the one, possibly 94?
March 95
Cool Cool Gig :)
Saw them in 92 too
Check Your Head Tour Hummingbird Brum. They were fantastic also at Reading when they were getting less name checked (same day Nirvana headlined on their last UK show).
The Fugazi gig was actually May 1992. This thread has reminded me to picked the gig up from the live series.
1. Reclamation
2. Sieve-Fisted Find
3. And The Same
4. Two Beats Off
5. Interlude 1
6. Facet Squared
7. Rend It
8. Promises
9. Margin Walker
10. Waiting Room
11. Burning
12. Burning Too
13. Interlude 2
14. Exit Only
15. KYEO
16. Blueprint
17. Shut the Door
18. Encore 1
19. Dear Justice Letter
20. Repeater
21. Outro
So glad I got to see the Beasties
even if it was only a few years back and cost me an utter fortune.
The Libertines at the Forum in 2003 (when i was a 15)
Somehow i managed to get onstage when they had a good old fashioned stage invasion, gave pete doherty a pat on the head. Pure fucking magic.
Fuck seeing them at Hyde Park,
Spot on
That's what a great gig is all about. Saw a few bands as a kid and that whole getting onstage / stagediving thing / chatting to the band is what real memories are made of. Totally agree re fuck any reformations too. Kudos.
godspeed in some weird derelict community center in Munich. genuinely think anyone seeing them then would have been blown away, now even as a big fan I find them to be extremely tedious
Public Enemy, Reading 1992
Sigur Ros, Union Chapel 2000
Happy Mondays, Lancaster Sugar House 1989
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Brixton Academy 2001
Tindersticks, Bloomsbury Theatre 1995
Tom Waits, Hammersmith Apollo 2004
MBV, several dates on the Loveless tour 1992
Depeche Mode, Birmingham NEC 1986 (my first ever gig)
saw Happy Mondays
at Glastonbury 1990. Not a fan but that gig was IMMENSE, crazy vibe, just a massive fuck it rave really, unique experience.
saw Public Enemy
a few times also, 89, 99 and 12, they're almost a parody of themselves these days but were fantastic 'back in the day'.
nils frahm at primavera
maybe.
Daft Punk
Alive 07 tour. Big tent at Rockness Festival.
Arnocorps last year ant the Bull & Gate
C'mAAAAn
EXACTLY!
Either:
Edwyn Collins at B&S ATP 2010. So much love in the room, Teenage Fanclub as backing band. Magic.
Jens Lekman at Union Chapel 2010. Seemed to be euphoric. It's the venue as much as anything else though. I love Union Chapel so much.
Possible sub thread: best gig by a band you've never heard before.
Mine would be the Holy Ghost revival at my local community center, for some reason the hardcore types decided to put them on a bill. Musically nothing special but amazing performance crowd interaction, at one point three members of the band crowd surfing while playing, the singer getting right in peoples faces, a sofa full if people sliding across the floor.
Sigur Ros @ Lowry Theatre Manchester
Just before Takk came out. The only gig I've ever been to on my own yet so moving and emotional.
Lots of mentions of Sigur Ros, I really liked them but the first time I saw them (first atp) it was too much and I got sick of them, like overdoing it on a food and never wanting to eat it ever again. Later at that atp my drunk friend spotted the singer by his twee jumper went up to him and and in a comedy falsetto sang 'it's yoooooeeeeeooooouuuuw' now I can never break that association
:D
thats brilliant
Five best
Queens of the Stone Age with Nick Oliveri back in 2003 or sth, at V Festival (!) on the SFTD Tour. I also saw them in 2005 at Koko when they played THE BRONZE and MEXICOLA as an encore. No Nic though, so this one pips it.
Mogwai outside one balmy summer's evening at Somerset House around 2007 or sutin. Magnificent, emotional and heartbreakingly beautiful. Aidan Moffat came out to do R U Still In 2 It.
Ben Frost and Roly Porter at la gaité lyrique in 2012. best sound in Paris, venue mostly empty, but the performance was spellbinding, just Ben and a drummer I think. Felt like the sound was coming out of the walls. Incredible, O God Protect Me nearly moved me to actual tears.
Flying Lotus doing his oneoff fullband thing at the ICA. Thundercat on bass, plus a violin and a harpist playing stuff off Cosmogramma. Pure fusion Ninja Tune 2000s vibes. Incredible.
Sandwell District back in 2011. Regis and Function managed to make the hardest techno still swing with a little EBM funk. 'nuff said
Also tempted to put in Peter Brötzmann and Steve Noble from last week but it needs to weather the test of time. It was really special though.
tbh there's many others I could put on here
Reformed Jesus Lizard and Sleep at ATP (what a weekend), Polvo, Earth with the worst hangover of my life, The Dead 'Fuckin' C x2, Sir Richard Bishop blowing Swans off the stage, Enablers, Colin Stetson blowing Glenn Branca off the stage...
steve noble's a really good drummer isn't he
saw him not too long ago and was very impressed
... and peter brotzmann is no slouch I guess
everybody complains that he's always on the bill at Oto
but I could watch him in a duo/trio with anyone around a thousand times without ever getting bored. Same deal with Corsano. Just hypnotic to watch.
which reminds me
last-pre reformation Comets on Fire gig at the Luminaire, when he clambered on stage from the audience and started to kick it with them on the final 15 minute freakout. Definitely makes the top three.
that's good
he is at oto a lot, but i'm hardly a regular, so it doesn't matter to me
Dinosaur Jr at the Forum in 2005...
...when they'd first reformed. Had seen them before in the 90s, but I just enjoyed that gig loads more. It was before they started doing gigs every few months, and it really felt like a one off.
And I have to admit, a couple of my other favourites have been ATP ones. No Age when Bob Mould came on and they did some Husker Du songs was pretty amazing. Also loved the Company Flow reunion show at Alexandra Palace, but I was pissed out of my tiny mind.
Never saw them post reformation
One of a few bands that could (and clearly did) pull this off mind. Can recall J Mascis vomiting mid guitar solo at a Brum gig circa '91 and just carrying on as if nothing had happened - it was a decent amount of vomit - weirdly thats all I remember about them live. Saw 'em twice in quick succession.
Also caught Husker Du twice (Candy Apple Grey - Powerhouse gig) and their final U.K. show at Glastonbury 87 I think. Fuckin' amazing live band.
I didn't see them orginally...
...until Where You Been came out, so when they reformed they performed more of the material that I really liked. Honestly, I find the majority of gigs I go to a bit of a let down, by they were really amazing at the Forum. When they started playing the intro to The Lung I actually got goosebumps.
Was funny - I thought I was being really clever leaving through the fire escape at the end, then my 2 mates arrived at the pub with these really nice screenprints from the merch table and thought it was hilarious that I missed them. One mate stopped for a wee on the way home, but accidentally dropped the poster and pissed all over it. Then, at Kentish Town, the other mate dropped his on the tracks as the tube pulled in. LOLZ.
the stuff
from You're Living All Over Me and Bug live circa '90 / '91 was SO DAMN LOUD. Even though these days they are lumped together with the Sub-Pop bands they really were, back then, seen as like the godfathers of that scene. Amazing guitarist and slacker vomiter extraordinaire..
The icarus line @ gullivers, Manchester
...last year
Liars - night & day cafe, manc 2002
Liars - roadhouse, manc 2004
Daft punk - wireless, Leeds '07
LCD Soundsystem - manc academy, sound of silver tour.
Would like to see all of them
and not seen any of them as of yet. The Icarus Line last album is so good I even paid for the MP3's
Top 3
Arctic Monkeys at Birmingham Academy 2 August 2005. The atmosphere was like nothing else, I think everyone knew it was a special occasion, that they were a band who were about to blow up. I went with a couple of friends, met up with a few folk who posted on the band's original fan forum beforehand, people im still friends with today.
I found out a couple of years ago that the venue capacity was capped at 400 (usually held 600+) at the band's request, and they had the sides of the room boarded up, so it felt even more intimate. I've seen the band a few times since, but nothing will ever beat that experience.
Prince at the O2, London in 2007
A great weekend spent in London with my brother, capped off by an incredible performance from Prince. Getting to see Maceo Parker on sax on stage too. Not a lot else I can say, it was just a great show.
AC/DC LG Arena Birmingham in 2009
When the tickets went on sale I spent nearly 3 hours with no luck trying to get them, and eventually had to give up when it was announced as sold out. A couple of months later (on my birthday) a mate of mine rang me to say he'd got hold of a ticket for me from a friend of his who had a spare. Roll round a month before the show and I get a message from another mate asking if I was still looking for a ticket, as he found himself with a spare, so I bought it for my brother as a birthday present (and leaving home gift as he had just bought his first house with his now wife and was moving a month or so after)
I've never been a massive fan of arena shows, but AC/DC absolutely blew the roof off the place, from the train bursting through the screens onto the stage, to the band's performance, it was incredible. Again getting to watch it with my brother was an amazing experience.
would like to see Prince
and a relatively early AM gig sounds cool. Saw AC/DC in 2000 (same venue) and they command an arena like few bands can. Angus Young doing a massive guitar solo in a see through ball suspended in the air floating over the venue. V cool.
Sigur Ros at Brixton Academy, London
It was an absolutely breathtaking performance
The Cure playing Pornography/Disintegration/Bloodflowers + more in Berlin
Radiohead at Oxford South Park 2001 supported by Supergrass, Beck and Sigur Ros
Joanna Newsom at Royal Albert Hall 2007
Fugazi x 3 Forum 2002
MBV 1st warm up show at the ICA 2008
I went to a few of the gigs mentioned in this thread
Butthole Surfers at Reading was one of the WORST things I've ever seen, but maybe that was the point. Happy Mondays at Glastonbury was a shambles too, they were wasted beyond belief- maybe you were too Charlie?
Ones that always come to mind are Iggy Pop in Birmingham 1991. Not a big fan but the best rock n roll show evah. David Bowie at NEC 2001, I went a bit gay for Dave that night, pure perfection. Cocteau Twins Sheffield City Hall 1990 my girlfriend was in tears at 'the beauty of her voice'
Tune-Yards at Green Man 2012, genius in effect and White Denim Bristol 2013 the most astonishing performance from the tightest band I've ever seen. It's all subjective though isn't it.