Musing About Rock Concerts

I went and saw Smashing Pumpkins last night. Really great show. Got me thinking a bit about the first rock concert I went to.

My dad took me to see Yes when I was a freshman (I think) in high school. Would have been around '96. I liked classic rock. These middle aged guys who haven't released anything noteworthy for a while were rocking out playing their classics. I really enjoyed that concert, but definitely felt like the teenager going to a show with all the "old people".

Fast forward and I'm 36 watching the Smashing Pumpkins in 2018. Here are these middle aged guys I grew up listening to who haven't released anything noteworthy for a while rocking out playing their classics...

Oh...

I realized a few years back that I was pretty much done listening to most bands I grew up with. Even Weezer, who I still enjoy, just doesn't have the same ring to it like it had 10 or 20 years ago. I almost can't stand listening to Metallica anymore, or Disturbed. Pearl Jam I can handle, but that's because I didn't listen to them a ton. Megadeath is pretty fun. None of those bands I'd pay to see. 

I think a lot of people are that way now, and I think it will greatly change the music industry. Spotify and streaming services buy the albums, you buy the service, they mix them up, and you never really care who's playing, just that it meshes nicely with the other music on the station. 

On the flip side I have a buddy who flew out to Seattle to see Pearl Jam, then is following them to Montana. Two concerts, same bad, twice in a week. I think that's kinda goofy. 

I saw Garbage two years ago. Obviously they're never going to be as big as they once were, but their last two albums were both pretty good.

I don't know about concerts.  I have not been to that many for "Big Name" musical acts from my youth.  For me one of the signs of getting older was hearing stuff from high school showing up on "Classic" radio stations and playlists.

We saw smashing pumpkins a few years back.  Billy Corgan is an shiny happy person and will never get another dollar out of me.  At one point EVERYONE was chanting 1979 and he got on the mic and said he wasn't playing anymore old songs because the tour was to support his new album.  I think he played two old songs the whole night.  Berk you Billy.

We often go to multiple concerts to see the same band if we like them enough and the venues don't suck.  I will go to every iron maiden concert I can get to.  Whenever coheed and Cambria tour we hit at least 2 or 3 depending where they're playing.  We saw them in Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cleveland, and Detroit this year.  Between them and Foo fighters we had a concert every other night for more than a week.

We once drove 21 hours to Colorado because coheed was opening for maiden.  Alice Cooper was opening for them around here so we went when they came through here too.  Zero regrets and road tripping to the concert is almost better than the actual concert.  We have CDs named after trips that I burnt them for, pop one in and take a trip back in time.

I saw the Foo Fighters way back in '99-ish when they wer touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Californication tour).

I've seen the Foos twice since then, both times in the past 4 years, and they rock harder now than they did 20 years ago.

I took SWMBO to see Nickle Back (don't judge, nobody's perfect, and that's like her only flaw ) ~6 years ago, silver lining was Bush opened for them.  Granted I'm a fanboy, but Bush stole that show.  Bush opened their set, completely black arena, opening chords of Machinehead, then a bright back light comes on, so all you see is Gavin and his guitar's silhouette, and it just got better from there.  Bush still had it, totally connected with the audience, even came out into the arena at one point and sing to some girls sitting near us.  When Nickle Back got on stage, even with the fancier set, all the pyro, video screens, etc. they phoned it in.  It was obvious who the "real" rock band was at that show.

Not rock, but in the guise of old dudes that need to hang it up, and retire...

I saw Hank Williams Jr. a few years ago, and he was terrible.

He played, or was on stage at least, for about an hour and a half, and he never actually played an entire song.  He basically played a medley of his hits, a verse or two of each, with some kind of story from his past and/or political rant peppered throughout.

I saw pennywise a year and a half ago, there were so many suburban dads there it was ridiculous. Then I realized we all grew up. I'm thinking about social distortion next month, those guys are older than pennywise. Show starts at 7pm so we can all make out bedtimes. Now I understand what I looked like when I saw u2 20 years ago. 

bigdaddylee82 said:

I saw the Foo Fighters way back in '99-ish when they wer touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Californication tour).

I've seen the Foos twice since then, both times in the past 4 years, and they rock harder now than they did 20 years ago.

 

I took SWMBO to see Nickle Back (don't judge, nobody's perfect, and that's like her only flaw ) ~6 years ago, silver lining was Bush opened for them.  Granted I'm a fanboy, but Bush stole that show.  Bush opened their set, completely black arena, opening chords of Machinehead, then a bright back light comes on, so all you see is Gavin and his guitar's silhouette, and it just got better from there.  Bush still had it, totally connected with the audience, even came out into the arena at one point and sing to some girls sitting near us.  When Nickle Back got on stage, even with the fancier set, all the pyro, video screens, etc. they phoned it in.  It was obvious who the "real" rock band was at that show.

This reminds me of seeing the summer sanitarium show in like...2004? 2005? Linkin park, mudvayne, metallica.....and limp bizket. Say what you will about fred Durst,  that guy can rock a damn arena. I dont get it. 

One of DC101s Djs said the Smashing Pumpkins show last week was awesome but I'd sort of expect a Dj to say that.  I just spent a few minutes on youtube checking out 21 Pilots new stuff as I really like the current single 'Jumpsuit'.  Seems like the album is some kind of concept/storyline thing which is cool.  Their show in D.C. is sold out for Oct.31 already at the arena the Capitals play in but I should be able to get an overpriced ticket on resale.  If I end up going it'll be the first concert since I finally saw The Psychedelic Furs almost 10yrs ago.  I almost always went to new indie rock bands and kinda got burned out especially as some weren't that amazeballs.  Same thing happened to me and movies.  I think I want to catch AJR this year too so maybe I'll get back into the concert scene again but ticket prices I'm sure haven't stayed the same as 10-20yrs ago unfortunately. 

Heh.  I went to see The Cure last  year.  Awesome show (they've always put on a great one), and it was amusing to see all the other middle-aged former goths. :)  Definitely not a lot of kids there.

Nine Inch Nails is playing in December, but in the quest to get away from Ticketmaster/stubhub all the seats are general admission.  I may have been willing to go stand in line outside the venue for hours when I was a teenager, but not any more.

My first concert was an all ages limp bizkit show when I was 12 (1999). I would watch them live again for just nostalgia reasons. I mostly listen too heavy metal and my wife isn't a fan. My most recent concerts are Hollywood undead, upchurch the redneck and five finger death punch. I just enjoy the atmosphere of concerts.

I can't think of a band that would be desireable enough that I would deal with Ticketmaster.  No.  

Besides, the big bands all put out a concert DVD of their big tours, and I can watch it without some douche screaming in my ear.

DVD will never capture a Iive performance. Sorry.

My first concert was Primus' Tails From the Punchbowl tour in 96. I  bounced up and down for 3 striaght hours. I see them about once a year. The will never be a stadium band, but they always sell out 5,000 seat venues. 

My last rock show was Halestorm, In This Moment, Stiched Up Heart, and New Years Day. Easily one of the better concerts in years I have gone to. The ITM set was “unique” with the theatrics and clearly drowned out, blasted out vocals.

Last concert I went to was Shania and I drove 9hrs to see her just to not be in a 25k seat arena. Still clearly one of the better overall shows I’ve also been to recently.

All the “glory” bands I have to go see, suck. Always blasted out way too loud to hear anything but noise. Pass.

Appleseed said:

 

 I  bounced up and down for 3 striaght hours. 

 

So, you understand why I don't enjoy going to live shows.  Excellent.

I enjoy the live music sound.  I do not enjoy the live music experience.

I don't go to many shows anymore. Prices are just too damn high.

Bah humbug. Get off my lawn.

Wanted to go see The Cult because Billy Duffy is awesome and they were coming to my town with Guns & Roses and Stone Temple Pilots.

Pulled up some live footage of their recent shows on Youtube....

Yeah, no... Ian can't sing anymore and I'd rather not hear a crappy version of the songs I like.

That, plus the fact that GnR is really just "Fat Axl Rose and some people who aren't Slash" and Scott Weiland is dead pretty much kills the other two acts.

Guess I'm getting old.

Suprf1y said:

I don't go to many shows anymore. Prices are just too damn high.

Bah humbug. Get off my lawn.

First concert.  Fall of 1978.  Rush 2112.  $14 at The “piece of E36 M3” International Amphitheater.   

The band we love to see is headed by a guy exactly my age, 51.  

And they just came out with a new studio album this year.

We've been following them since about '94, and been regularly going to concerts since '98.  Not every year, as our trips sometimes conflict with their tours.

The best thing about them is that they play all the old stuff to sound really good, but also with a lot of new in them.  And they jam some new songs that end up in albums over time.

I'm pretty sure everyone here hates them, but that's fine with me- it's a great combination of rock, jazz, and a lot inbetween.  Plus with enormous talent of players.

On a cool note.

My friend's first rock concert was Alice Cooper. The same friend made sure that his son's first rock concert was also Alice Cooper.

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

 Pretty sure I paid $4 for my ticket the first time I saw Rush in Toronto

Suprf1y said:

I don't go to many shows anymore. Prices are just too damn high.

Bah humbug. Get off my lawn.

I don’t think that’s a bah humbug at all. Ticketmaster etc have ruined ticket prices. 

Lucky for me most of my favorites play small venues that are easier and cheaper to get tickets to, but there are some that I just won’t go to. 

While Ticketmaster have certainly ruined the add-on fees, I don't think it's Ticketmaster who is to blame for actual ticket prices.

The only way an artist can really make money these days is by touring, as album sales etc don't really bring in that much money anymore. That's a big change over the last 20 years when tours were originally to promote an album and not substitute for the income from an album.

And yes, shows are expensive and I find myself going to fewer of them.

I love concerts but I have never paid for a big show. It’s funny, at 34 bands from my teen years are either still commanding $$$ arenas, or have been reduced to State Fair shows. I might try to see Counting Crows in 2 weeks.