Words of Wisdom

* originally posted 1/10/06

I posted a comment of Coleman’s blog the other day that had to do with the Smashing Pumpkins and it made me reflect a bit on all of the concerts I’ve seen over the past 15 or so years. So today you’re in luck, I’m going to give you a rundown of some of the good, the bad, and the ones I missed.

Best Shows
Phish (2004, East Troy, WI) Without a doubt, the greatest of all concert experiences. It was my favorite band, on their final tour, at the coolest venue I’d ever been to – it was even worth the 1,300 mile round trip. Everybody sat on the side of a hill, with a stage at the bottom and ski slopes in the background. If anybody’s interested, I have the whole 3+ hour concert on CD!

Bob Dylan (1997, Memphis, TN) The cold downpour that we sat through waiting for him to come out was all worth it when he kicked into “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again.”

Willie Nelson (1999, Little Rock) Willie has put on a great show both times I’ve seen him, but this 3+ hour extravaganza was the best. He played every song any of us could think of and then he kept going…and going…

Pearl Jam (1993, Little Rock) As great as they still are, PJ was a sight to behold in their commercial prime. I still recall how pleasantly surprised I was when they came out and quietly opened with “Release” before tearing the roof off Barton Colliseum later.

U2/Rage Against the Machine (1997, Memphis) Far and away, the biggest show I’ve ever seen and probably will ever see again. I remember that we finished our last finals that morning and then took off for the Liberty Bowl. The version of Pride (In the Name of Love) that they did always stuck with me – probably because of how wild the 50,000+ people went when Bono sang the line “shots rang out in the Memphis sky.”

Other shows that probably could have made the list:
Motley Crue (1998, Little Rock), Green Day (1998, Memphis), Jimmy Page/Robert Plant (1995, Little Rock), Smashing Pumpkins (1993, Little Rock), Dave Matthews Band (2003, Little Rock)

Worst Shows:
Everclear (1999, Memphis) Maybe we just caught them on a bad day, but these guys were awful. First of all, they used this cheesy, overbearing keyboard in every song and then their singer told the audience how much he hated “all of you rednecks down here.”

Smashing Pumpkins (1997, Little Rock) We got really mad because security made us stay in our seats. It also didn’t help that nearly everybody else there looked like they were only about 14.

Shows I wish I’d seen

Grateful Dead: Sure, they still tour as the Dead, but when Jerry died in ‘96 the band was over.

Nirvana: I surely would have seen them if they had come close to Little Rock.

Johnny Cash: It’s hard for me to believe I never got to see the Man in Black.

Artists I still want to see

Radiohead: I’m not sure how they would translate live, but they may be the greatest band of the last 20 years. 1998’s Ok Computer is one of the greatest of all rock albums.

Beck: I absolutely love almost everything Beck has done. Odelay is the popular choice for his best work, but Sea Change is an unbelievably beautiful album and my favorite of his.

Wilco: Former Uncle Tupelo co-frontman Jeff Tweedy has put together one of the most consistent album catalogues around.

Drive-By Truckers: The best southern rock band since the demise of Skynyrd in the late 70’s. I have seen the Truckers before, but it was an abbreviated set at Memphis in May. I’d really like to catch them sometime at one of the clubs around here.