Three Tune Tuesday - Best Gigs I was ever At
Back when I was young free and single I used to be a festival goer so I saw a wide range of bands. A festival called Witness was held in Ireland which was a three day festival so we had to camp. Residing in Ireland in the summer still promises rain and lots of it so sometimes there were downpours and the place would turn into a mudfest. The smell off us on the Sunday used to be terrible. But we were young and had a few drinks in us so a bit of mud was the least of our worries. A festival is a bit different than buying tickets to see somebody. If you are sitting back in the grass at the main stage then a band might come on that you have no interest in whatsoever and they might knock your socks off. As well as that , a band you might be waiting for may be disappointing. I sometimes found after festivals like these I would start following the bands that blew me away.
Some bands I found were great studio bands but lacked presence on stage. Other bands would make an OK album but the live stage was their home and they were amazing. If anyone asks me the best bands I have ever seen live , they give me a little look after I tell them. They expect to hear me say Oasis, Springstein , Kasabian and even the Rolling Stones. Now all these bands have great stage presence and I nearly got killed at a few Oasis gigs such was the crowds but I was never blown away by them.
Beck - Witness 2000
I was at Witness in 2000 and my best friend at the time secretly arranged to run off with a new girlfriend, I was left with her friend, who looked like a pixie but we didn't know each other. So the two of us didn't really know what to do so we just decided to watch the next act. I ended up marrying pixie girl but that is not the point. The next act was Beck. Plain old Beck. I knew a few of his songs like the song Loser. I knew he was a little American fella and I had a feeling he was going to be terrible. So on walks Beck with his double denims and an entourage in toe with a heap of other backing singers. Music starts with this kind of funky soul music that blew me away. It was the coolest music I had ever heard/ The crowd were going mental. Everyone was loving it. Nobody knew the music but 30,000 people were vibing off him wondering what was going on. He was fantastic. He had massive stage presence and was doing the splits. Probably the best 1 hour performance I have ever seen live. I still have a soft spot for aul Beck real name Bec David Campbell and his recent albums have been critically acclaimed. I was checking into Waterford Castle a few years ago and he was in front of me at the check in desk. Not the place to be fanboying but I regret telling him he was the best live act I had ever seen.
Source
The Happy Mondays Witness 2000
It was the same year and the best friend came back all happy with himself. The romantic David Gray was closing on the Sunday and he was at his peak so we decided it was David Gray was our final gig. David had released white ladder and it went straight to number 1 in Ireland for months. He had a big crowd. But with all singer songwriters, the main stage at a festival may not be quite the intimate venue he would excel in and I found myself bored at him. It was the last night and I fancied to go out with a bang. Out of the corner of my eye the second stage was indoor and I saw a flock of people running to it. They had the same idea and preferred anything to the bore-fest that was on stage. Don't get me wrong , I am a fan of David Gray but I was 18 and I wasn't in love so it was the wrong time and place. Pixie girl decided to come with me so we headed off to see what we could find. And on stage was the mad capped hell raisers called the Happy Mondays and all hell was breaking loose. Well I thought all hell was breaking loose but in hindsight I think it was quite an every day Happy Mondays concert. Naked people on stage with their bumps and bits jangling around the place. Sean Ryder off his face on something and barely standing. Their backing dancers with the Maraccas. It was just carnage but it was brilliant carnage. One of them fell off the stage so another one took over the lyrics while they got back up. More naked people appeared from the shadows. Great gig. I had to laugh when I tried to upload the video and Youtube won't allow me because of naked people.
Coldplay The O2 Arena Dec 2008
I have always liked Coldplay whether it be their alternative stage or their global band stage. Their album parachutes is still one of my all time favourite albums so they deserve a little respect. I also think Chris Martin is definitely a genius and I do actually think he has not had the happiest of marriages to Gwyneth where he has now happily moved on. Something tells me that if she wanted him back he would jump at the chance but that is not for me to say. His lyrics in albums after the breakup are haunting so I feel sorry for the guy. Anyway their Viva La Vida tour back in 2008 was magical. It was at Christmas time and they put on some show. It was where they were going. Putting on a global show. But I thought it was magnificent. These huge giant colourful balloons appeared at one stage making the whole arena into this magical place. In the middle they walked into the crowd and performed an acoustic set of covers and sung jingle bells. A bit cheesy but a great show. They also ended with a song that many don't know called death and all his friends. And it is one of my favourite songs by them. It was bloody amazing. Coldplay's lead guitarist Johnny Buckland does not get enough credit either. He has his own recognizable sound and style and you could say it is similar to the Edge in U2. Very good technically but maybe not given enough recognition to just how important he has been to the band over the years.
Good choices this week. Sometimes to basic rock is exactly what is needed.
Nice stories about pixie girl, too!
Thanks @wwwiebe yep good old basic rock is always good
So ya met herself by accident at Witness, that's class. I never made it to Witness, but did Oxygen and Electric Picnic a few times and it was unreal craic altogether, nothing quite like it, especially Electric Picnic where you have great food trucks, tonnes of space, arty stuff and comedians along with the music. Those weekends were epic, not sure if I could handle the camping now, would have to be one of those VIP teepies or a local B and B methinks...
Jesus Beck looks like he put on a serious show, that's one I would love to have been at, now best ever Gig, hmmmmm that's a tough one, so I'll go for a top three instead in no particular order....
James Brown Oxygen 2005 -- That gig was insane, the Master of Funk did not disappoint and luckily we were in early, as thousands more had to listen from outside as the tent filled quickly..
Elbow Electric Picnice 2008 -- Elbow -- they had just brought out Seldom Seen Kid and they absolutely rocked the place, unreal stuff. My own Pixie girl/girlfriend (now wife) was with me and she went off with one of her girlfriends to watch Duffy instead while Elbow were on - it haunts her to this day!!
The National (seen them around 5 times) They impress every time, just love Matt Berringer's voice and lyrics. You should catch a gig if you can, although the unfortunate thing is they rarely play small intimate places anymore in Ireland anyway.
Honourable mentions: Scroobious Pip and Dan Le Sac at Forbidden Fruit, Snoop Dog at the point, Muse at Marley Park, Arcade Fire at Marley Park, Foo Fighters at Slane, Audioslave doing Rage Against the Machine songs at either Oxygen or EP, In the Pit for Green Day and RHCP at one of those festivals
Jaysus I was at a few of those. Was at the same James Brown concert and also Green Day and Foo Fighter and Arcade fire with the pixies and ham sandwich supporting..some gigs .