Cell Phones Are Expensive

The recent post about the "Best Concert Ever" on The Lost Blueprint made me think about the best concerts I've ever been to. As a music geek who grew up in the middle of nowhere, WI, we had to drive at least 3 hours to get to any big concert, so concerts became roadtrips and those became memorable experiences in their own right. I used to go to concerts much more frequently than I do now, which is why most of these are from my high school and college years.

BEST CONCERTS I'VE EVER BEEN TO, in no particular order:

Prince @ Summerfest. Milwaukee, 2004

Hands down, the best show I have seen or will ever see. This guy is a genius and a fantastic entertainer. My buddies and I had nosebleed seats and we could barely see the tiny pixy-man, but it was still brilliant.

Shane MacGowan & The Popes @ First Avenue. Minneapolis, 2002.

Crazy crowd consisting of 50% drunk punk kids and 50% drunk Irish folk. Saw a few people get carried out by security because they were too drunk to stand. At First Ave, most people usually drink cheap beer, but that night everyone was drinking Guinness out of a plastic cup, and half of it ended up on the floor. Shane was loaded and unintelligible on stage - just how you would expect. I typically watched shows at First Ave from a spot on the balcony, but this time I purposely wanted to be part of the madness on the main floor. The band performed all the best Pogues songs, and closed with "Fairytale of New York". It was so great.

Fugazi @ First Avenue. Minneapolis, 2001?

I miss Fugazi. I went alone to this one. I did that a lot in those days. These guys just put on a great show, period. I watched from my balcony spot.

Pearl Jam @ Alpine Valley. Milwaukee area, WI, 1998.

My friends and I were HUGE Pearl Jam fans in high school, but we knew we'd never get to go to a show because they sold out in 2 seconds, and on top of that, they had that whole Ticketmaster fiasco that kept them from touring. In '98, when they became less popular, we finally got the chance to see them live, and all of our high school buddies came along. I remember everyone swaying and nostalgizing when they played "Black". I also remember everyone getting drunk and stoned in the hotel room, and my buddy Andy drunkenly mistaking the corner of the hotel room for a toilet.

The Strokes @ 7th Street Entry. Minneapolis, 2001.

This was before the Strokes album dropped in the US but they were big in the UK. I had no idea who they were, but Matt and Andy had an extra ticket, so I went along. There is nothing cooler than seeing a great show in a tiny venue and thinking "these guys are going to be huge".

Three Litre Hit @ Eli's Mile High Club. Wausau, WI, 1996.

Eli's was the only place in town where they had all-ages shows that we high school kids could attend. All of our rocker buddies had their own bands, and we'd all drive 10 miles to see each other play and smoke awful clove cigarettes. One night someone opened for Three Litre Hit out of Eau Claire, WI. They were a tiny "lounge-core" band that fused punk with lounge. Their stage shows were ridiculous. The Rhodes organ player ('Brother Nathan") wore a motorcycle helmet with a mic welded to it. (At least he did that night - legend has it he threw it away shortly after throwing up into it at a different show). He was a stocky dude who was always shirtless. He would play swanky lounge music, then rise up from the bench and scream during the fast parts. I can't do it justice. Great times from a band that has since faded from existence.

Beck @ EdgeFest. Somerset, WI, 1997.

Beck headlined an otherwise lackluster festival at the Apple River campground in Somerset. He just puts on an enormously entertaining show.

Superchunk @ First Avenue. Minneapolis, 2001.

I love Superchunk! I miss that band too. I've seen them at least 3 times. This show was my favorite. Another one where I watched from the main floor. They closed with a cover of "Born to Run", complete with sax solo and false ending. So good!

Mad Trucker Gone Mad @ Mission Coffee House. Stevens Point, WI. 1996?

Our high school drum instructor, (and later, the drummer for my college band), Tim was in this band. They were crazy live. This was a show around Xmas time, and the band was giving away presents. One of the gifts was a sausage wreath, which they gave away to this one dorky kid who went to our highschool. Tim then decided that the kid needed to do "something special" to receive said sausage wreath, so the band proceeded to make the kid kneel down while Tim poured his full beer down the kid's asscrack, on stage in front of everyone. The kid thought it was cool.

Dave Brubeck @ Orchestra Hall. Minneapolis, 1997.

It's not often you get to see a living legend perform, much less from the front row for $7 because you're a student.

Polkaholics @ Schuba's. Chicago, 2003.

I don't actually remember if the Polkaholics were any good. I just remember that A) the Cubs won the playoff game that day, B) Schuba's was selling Schlitz for 25 cents and C) Matt was so drunk he put a Polkaholics bumper sticker on his chest and ran around the floor shirtless.

Posted by Dan on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at 12:15 PM | Permalink