Some of the best
Numerous Rush gigs when I was younger and they were in their pomp, I really would get transported to another world when I was at a Rush gig.
Numerous Kristin Hersh gigs (she is a total genius) but particular one brilliant acoustic show she did at the ULC in London (the hips and makers tour) in fact I arrived at the venue early and was lucky enough to experience her play a sound check of 4 songs with no one else in the venue, just me, absolutely magical.
All the Keneckie gigs I ever went to see, basically because they were such a wonderful indie pop group and because Lauren Laverne and Marie du Santiago were the best comedy double act ever to pick up guitars, enchanting.
Throwing Muses at the Shepherds Bush Empire (crap venue), I guess I was in the zone for this, my favourite band of all time, playing some of my favourite songs of all time. When Kristin launched into ‘hook in your head’ I though I had died and gone to heaven.
Belly at the Birmingham Institute. This was great because Belly were just such a fantastic live experience, and because the crowd involvement was so perfect, absolute joy and mania, but with no aggression.
Sleater Kinney (1) in a small pub in Portland, this was great because it was so unexpected I was on holiday and visiting Portland when I literally stumbled into the pub only to find out that Sleater-Kinney were playing a gig to try out new material (for those unfamiliar with Sleater-Kinney they all lived in Portland), it was a riot, made even better by the fact they came on stage at 12.30am, which meant I was conscious of the fact that whilst I was watching them, my work colleagues back in the UK would have just been arriving for work
.Sleater Kinney (2) at the Fillmore (?) in San Francisco. This was brilliant because I was on holiday and read about them in the local student mag, who headlined the article with the words ‘the saviours of rock’ I thought I cant miss this opportunity I will go check them out, and blow me down with a feather they sounded brilliant. Really visceral, I fell in love with them instantly.
Joanne Newsom: she played about 4 years ago at a lovely small venue local to me called the glee club, just Jo and her harp, she was absolutely mesmerising, I can honestly say it was the last time I have felt totally blown away at a gig.
Magnapop at Birmingham Edwards no8 club, well just for the unbound joyous musical experience they deliver, they must be the most underrated group of all time.
Some of the worst
Thankfully there haven’t been many but a couple stand out, the aforementioned Catpower in London, she was hopeless, catatonic almost, or just mumbled and looked down at the floor (she used to suffer from terrible stage fright, not great for a musician) a total disappointment, but as I say she is forgiven because she produces such wonderful music.
Mazzy Star: still the only gig I have ever been to where the band walked off, I say the band, really it was Hope Sandoval having a strop to end all strop. Here are some quotes from Hope (‘ I need silence to play these songs’ ‘you are all too quiet’ and ‘don’t you realise I am an artist’) did not go down well with one or two of the crowd who pointed out they worked week in week out in a crappy factory job and had saved up to come and see her, so why didn’t she just get on with doing her job.
Metric and Rilo Kiley both at the carling academy in Birmingham, not really the bands fault on these occasions, more the terrible acoustics at the venue, and the we are too cool to get involved crowd, oh and Rilo Kiley played too many songs from their last album which is less than average, ignoring their back catalogue which is magical
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. a very small european tour(5 dates) for no particular reasons, just for pleasure i guess!
